Hit by heat wave, power cuts, Kumaon people yearn for rain
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June14
Local residents, farmers, small entrepreneurs and housewives in the Kumaon region are suffering due to lack of rain, soaring temperatures and long power cuts. The situation has also created a crisis of fuel, fodder and water and caused damage to the cash crops of the farmers.

According to sources in the weather department, the heat wave is not likely to relent in the coming days as there are no signs of early rain. “As the level of moisture has gone down to less than 25 per cent due to searing heat this month, the pre-monsoon showers are not likely to happen in the coming days,” said a spokesman for the local unit of the weather department.

He said the temperatures in June in Pithoragarh and Champawat districts had been recorded 3°C more than last year. “While the maximum temperatures in Champawat and Pithoragarh were 31°C and 34.2°C, respectively, today, the minimum temperatures in these districts remained at 16°C and 19.6°C, respectively, which were 3°C more than last year,” said the spokesman.

Besides, the non-availability of drinking water due to drying up of natural sources and the hot weather conditions had hit the farmers of Champawat, who had taken to cultivation of potatoes and vegetables in place of traditional crops. “As more than 7 per cent of the potato crop has dried due to high temperature and lack of rain, the farmers are now worried how they will repay their bank loans,” said Shankar Bagauli, a potato farmer in Champawat.

Not only potato farmers but also vegetable farmers in the Lohaghat area of Champawat district had been hit hard by the heat wave. They said more than 70 per cent of the vegetable crops had been damaged due to the rising temperature and lack of rain. The vegetable farmers in Rai Nagar, Chauri, Kolidhek, Patan Banigaun, Khetikhan and Manargaun had demanded compensation from the government for the loss of vegetable crop.

“Last year, till this day the district had witnessed 60 mm of rainfall, which damaged our vegetable crop. But this year the farmers are again facing the threat of losing the vegetable crop due to high temperature if rain does not take place in a week,” said Ramesh Chandra Kharkwal, a vegetable farmer in Champawat district.

While the villages are bearing damage to crops and facing a drinking water crisis, towns in this part of the Kumaon region are facing long power cuts. “The power cuts have badly affected our business as in the absence of electricity we are not in position to run our printing machine to meet the orders of our clients,” said Pankaj Pandey, a local printer.

Almost every town in the Kumaon region is facing long power cuts. “The situation is worse in hill districts of Pithoragarh, Champawat, Bageshwar and Almora which are facing nearly eight hours of power cuts daily. Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts are having power cuts of two to four hours daily,” said a power corporation officer.

According to SIDCUL sources, the power cuts in the industrial area have reduced production in the industrial area by 20 to 40 per cent. “If the state government is not able to improve the power situation, the industries will have no option but to shift from here,” said Ajay Tiwari, vice-president of the SIDCUL Entrepreneurs Welfare Society at Rudrapur. 

MC poll: 7 file papers from wards 37, 38
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 14
Seven candidates filed nomination papers for the Dehradun Municipal Corporation elections from ward No. 37, Mata Mandir Road, and ward No. 38 Race Course Road, at the District Magistrate office here today.

Those who filed papers from ward No. 37 are Bhupinder Fharsi of the BJP and Independents Chandan Singh Panwar, Kailash Chander Uniyal and Vimal Uniyal. The ones who filed nomination papers for ward No. 38 are Dinesh Sati of the BJP and Independents Ganesh Barthwal and Jitender Baloni, alias Jyoti.

Vimal Uniyal is being backed by MLA Umesh Sharma Kao while Jitender Baloni is supported by Minister for Planning Dinesh Aggarwal.

Meanwhile, the Congress did not allow the party candidates to use its symbol to avoid infighting among ticket aspirants. Vimal Uniyal, who had lost the election by a few votes from the same ward last time, said he hoped to register a win this year. He added he was not bothered by the fact that he would get only 10 months to work for his ward. “Since I am supported by MLA Umesh Sharma, I can always do much more in 10 months. The time period does not matter to me as I want to serve the people of my area,” he said.

Meanwhile, equations may change in the next elections due to 50 per cent reservation for women in the Municipal Corporation elections and because of which the same candidate may not get a chance to contest the elections from the same ward again. MLA Kao said, “Ten months are enough for Vimal to show his capability to work at the ground level. Even if his ward is reserved for a woman candidate, his wife can stand as a candidate and win on the basis of her husband’s good work,” he said.

Ganesh Barthwal, a candidate from ward No. 38, is also fighting the elections for the second time. He said he lost by a margin of 26 votes last time and was sure of a victory this time as he had worked tirelessly in his ward all these years. Dinesh Sati is also contesting the MC elections for the second time. 

Villages to have link roads
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 14
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain has claimed that all villages in the state would be connected to roads in coming three years. He said Rs 2,763 crore had been sanctioned to the state under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY).

Reviewing the meeting of the PMGSY at Secretariat here today, the Chief Secretary said Rs 1,518 crore had been received from the Centre, while Rs 545 crore were already with the state government and the remaining Rs. 700 crore would be borne by the state government. He said a target had been set to connect 230 habitations every year.

Jain directed the officials concerned to form five new divisions of Public Works Department in coming three years and depute engineers on contract basis till the recruitment of engineers for the PWD was made through the Public Commission. He asked them to peg the honorarium of assistant engineers at Rs 25,000 per month and that of junior engineers at Rs 15,000 per month. The Chief Secretary observed that more divisions would be needed to carry out the works of Rs 921 crore per year. Stating that presently 17 divisions were carrying out works under the PMGSY, he directed the officials to form five more divisions. Besides, he instructed them to take three divisions of the road engineering service and five from Irrigation Department. This way, there would be 30 divisions working for the PMGSY only. He said all 30 divisions would carry out works relating to only the PMGSY. Jain also asked the officials to depute one chief engineer and four superintendent engineers for construction works.

He instructed the undertaking agencies to make improvements in their working culture and adopt new technology and take tips from successful ventures of other agencies. He stressed shifting from conventional techniques to modern hi-tech systems. He maintained that it was necessary to connect the villages with roads for their comprehensive development. Jain also asserted that by all means, 300 detailed project reports should be forwarded to Union Government by the end of September and work be started following their approval. He said it was necessary for Nodal Department to monitor the works on regular basis and conduct site visits. He further said there should be no compromise in the quality of work. 

Nephew of Kiran Mandal among contenders for Sitarganj Seat
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 14
Despite receiving a jolt from former BJP MLA Kiran Mandal in Sitarganj, who turned renegade and joined the Congress, the Uttarakhand BJP's honeymoon with the Kiran Mandal family is not over for, among the probables from the party for the Sitarganj Assembly seat, is Deepak Biswas, a nephew of Kiran Mandal, who had single-handedly run the election campaign of his uncle during the 2012 Assembly elections.

When the state parliamentary board meets in Dehradun on June 16 to take a final call on the choice of candidate for the party, Biswas would be among the front runners.

"There is no dearth of leaders in the BJP, and while proposing the names of the candidates, Biswas' name too would figure. He is office bearer of the party at block level and had not only run the election campaign for his uncle but also provided him funds. The final selection would be done by the central parliamentary board after the meeting on June 16," BS Chuphal, Uttarakhand BJP chief, said.

What stands out in favour of the BJP is it's cadre votes, who would not hesitate to rake up the issue of the incomplete government order and other false promises made by the Congress. "The people are angry in Sitarganj, especially the Bengali community, which has been let down by the incomplete land order issued by the Bahuguna government. The complete order is yet to be issued and the embarrassed government is touting several excuses for the delay, including the imposition of the model code of conduct," said Chuphal.

What has annoyed the BJP is the efforts that the party put towards making a success of Kiran Mandal, ho was a novice and would not have been granted the ticket but for the support from top leaders."We have grass root level leaders who are highly motivated and most are well versed with Sitarganj, unlike the Congress, whose sitting MP (Nainital) K.C Singh has never visited Sitarganj," said Chuphal.

Volunteers join hands to fight synthetic milk menace
Tribune News Service

Haridwar June 14
With increasing cases of synthetic milk coming to light, a group of volunteers have taken an initiative to set up a dairy industry in all blocks of Uttarakhand so that pure milk could be produced.

Their initial target is to provide milk to adolescents and children so that their health does not suffer due to contaminated or synthetic milk.

A group of nine volunteers, including Shiv Kumar Gupta, Upendra Dutt Sharma and Swami Achyutanand Teerth from Haridwar, have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court citing a report of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India released on January 12 indicating a rapid increase in supply of synthetic milk to the people both in packets and in the open market.

The report said milk samples taken from 29 states and union territories were found adulterated up to 68 per cent. A three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court took cognisance of the PIL and served notices on the respective state governments, including Uttarakhand.

Litigants Shiv Kumar and Upendra Dutt told The Tribune that milk adulteration was a serious problem that posed a risk to the health of the people, particularly small children. They had submitted a proposal to the Uttarakhand government for assistance in opening dairy farms, the produce of which would be given only to adolescents and children.

These social activists had already earmarked land in all 95 blocks of the state and funds for the purpose were being mobilised from institutions, saints, NGOs and through voluntary donations.

“If the government provides us cows of a good breed or gives us some concession so that we can procure them from Denmark where experts have found cows producing high quality milk in large quantities. Our activists have already begun identifying land in all blocks and are holding talks with like-minded people. The response to the noble cause has been overwhelming,” said Shiv Kumar.

Upendra Dutt urged the people to contribute towards the cause and said adulterated milk and related products were as dangerous as drugs as they slowly weakened one’s immunity and caused health problems. The activists were now planning to form a cooperative society on the lines of Amul in Anand, Gujarat. 

Blood donation camps in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 14
Various blood donation camps were organised on the occasion of World Blood Day here today. Private medical institutions also held voluntarily blood donation camps.

At the blood bank near mela hospital, a mega blood donation camp was organised with support of Helping Hands Foundation, a social organisation. Under the directions of the blood bank in charge, Dr MM Khan, volunteers of the Helping Hands Foundation as well as local people donated blood.

Richa Mishra, a student, who donated blood for the first time, said people associated with the charitable society motivated here to come for the cause.

Ishan Jha and Vibhor Mehta of the Helping Hands Foundation managed the programme .