Arya struck deal with Mandal
Dehradun, June 16
Kishore Rai, gram pradhan from Shakti Farm in UdhamSingh Nagar and close associate of former BJP MLA Kiran Mandal, today alleged that Uttarakhand Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya had struck a deal of Rs 10 crore with Kiran Mandal.

SP, BSP not to field nominee against Bahuguna
Dehradun, June16
The Samajwadi Party and the BSP have decided not field candidates against Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in the Sitarganj assembly byelection scheduled to be held on July 8.

Harak meets Khanduri, Koshiyari
Dehradun, June 16
Newly inducted Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat today gave rise to speculation of a possible alignment with the BJP after he met former Chief Minister BC Khanduri.

Dehradun, June 16
The Uttarakhand BJP is likely to lose another MLA to the Congress. This time Bhim Lal Arya, MLA from Ghansali, following in the footsteps of former BJP MLA Kiran Mandal, is likely to desert the party and join the Congress.

"For the last two days, we have been trying to get in touch with him but he could not be traced. The Congress is poaching our MLAs by using money and muscle power and bringing them to the party fold," said BS Chufal, state BJP chief.

BJP leaders say the Congress had begun alluring the leader after he raised the issue of suspension of constables in the just-concluded Vidhan Sabha and had been allegedly offered money which the first-time MLA could not resist. The leader had joined the BJP in 2007 and is said to have demanded the backward area status for the Ghansali reserved seat.

The successive poaching of BJP MLAs by the Congress has severely dented the image of the BJP and its claims of being a party with a difference has also lost sheen in Uttarakhand. Since taking over the reins of power in Uttarakhand, the constituencies of BJP MLAs have become a happy hunting ground for the Congress. Most of the first time MLAs have been on the radar of the BJP but what has stunned the BJP leaders is the brazenness with which the Congress has gone about implementing the operation.

"The way Kiran Mandal was made to abdicate the Sitarganj seat had stunned the people of Uttarakhand and now the Congress has gone a step ahead and is trying to repeat the same experiment with Bhim Lal Arya, even when the model code of conduct is in place. In the entire operation, the government machinery was misused," alleged Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly.

In fact, after much deliberation and surveys, the BJP high command had finalised the list of the candidates for the 2012 assembly poll and had not hesitated to give tickets to new comers in order to beat the anti-incumbency. The exercise did yield results with the BJP managing to get just one seat less from the Congress.

Dehradun, June 16
With another BJP MLA likely to cross over to the Congress, the Leader of the Opposition, Ajay Bhatt, today demanded a CBI probe into the “sale and purchase of MLAs” being done by the Bahuguna government.

Stung by the prospect of losing another MLA, Bhatt said he had sent a letter to the Governor and the Election Commission and urged them to take cognisance of the Kiran Mandal episode and press for a CBI inquiry into the matter so that the malpractice could be stopped immediately. “We have documentary proofs of the manner in which Kiran Mandal was bribed. We want a CBI inquiry into the entire episode,” said Bhatt while speaking to mediapersons here today.

He charged Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna with using weak links in the BJP to secure his position. “The Chief Minister is quite weak. He has set a bad precedent by indulging in horse-trading and striking deals with BJP legislators. He first set about luring BJP MLA Kiran Mandal who vacated his Sitarganj seat for him and now another MLA from Ghansali had gone missing. We are not aware of his whereabouts,” he said.

Bhatt said the BJP would not be affected by desertions as it could not prevent the MLAs from going. “If an MLA has decided to burn his boat and commit suicide, nothing much can be done,” he said.

Besides demanding a CBI probe, Bhatt said the BJP had brought to the notice of the Election Commission the violation of the model code of conduct by the Chief Minister. Bahuguna announced a 7 per cent DA hike for the state government employees recently. 

Dehradun, June16
The Samajwadi Party and the BSP have decided not field candidates against Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in the Sitarganj assembly byelection scheduled to be held on July 8.

The BSP, which is a coalition partner in the Vijay Bahuguna led Congress government, has taken a decision not to field their candidate from Sitarganj. The BSP has a sizeable presence in the Assembly segment as their candidate Narayanpal had won the seat in the 2002 and 2007 elections. However, after the 2012 Assembly polls, the BSP had extended support to the Congress government and one of its legislators Surender Rakesh is a Cabinet minister in the Bahuguna government.

Sarvat Karim Ansari, another BSP legislator, has been made Chairman of the Uttarakhand Housing Board a few days ago.

Meghraj Zarware, president of the Uttarakhand unit of the BSP, announced that the BSP would not field its candidate and would campaign for Chief Minister Bahuguna in the byelection. He said a decision in this regard was taken by the party supremo Mayawati.

On the other hand, Samajwadi Party Uttarakhand president Vinod Barthwal has also announced to extend his party's support to Vijay Bahuguna in the Sitarganj byelection. Vinod has a long association with the Bahuguna family and was a disciple of his father Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna.

Even party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has good relations with the Bahugunas since he was also closely associated with Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna in Uttar Pradesh politics. 

Dehradun, June 16
The Uttarakhand BJP at its state parliamentary board meeting here today shortlisted the names of former MP Balraj Pasi, former MLA Prakash Pant and former district president Ratan Lal Gupta as the probable candidates for the Sitarganj byelection scheduled for July 8.

State BJP president BS Chufal disclosed the names after the meeting and said the central parliamentary board of the party would now meet in Delhi tomorrow to make the final choice.

The meeting at the BJP headquarters was attended by former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member BS Koshiyari, former Chief Minister BC Khanduri and other senior leaders. Chufal said the central parliamentary board would now decide a candidate from among the three probable candidates by tomorrow.

However, former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank did not attend the meeting. 

Dehradun, June 16
Uttarakhand Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has yet against appealed to the Centre for restart of construction of Srinagar Hydro Power Project.

In a statement issued today, Satpal Maharaj said the Srinagar project in itself kept the potential to fully cater to the power requirements of Uttarakhand. He said this 300 mega watt project was essential for the state. Maharaj said the closure of power projects in Uttarakhand would affect the industrial sector the most and be detrimental to the development of the region. Maharaj has asked the Centre to re-consider its decision as already a large amount had been spent on the construction of the Srinagar project.

Dehradun, June 16
The Uttarakhand Congress has opposed the scrapping of Srinagar and Vishnugaad hydropower projects by the Centre.

In a statement issued today, Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said while 80 per cent of the construction work for the Srinagar Hydropower Project had been completed and over Rs 2 crore spent on it, there was no justification in closing the project at this stage. Similarly, the Vishnugaad Hydropower Project was also on the verge of completion. The closure of under-construction projects was adversely affecting the state, he added.

Dhasmana said nearly 4,000 families were directly dependent on the Srinagar and Vishnugaad hydropower projects for their livelihood.

Referring to BJP leaders' statements on Ganshali MLA Bhim Lal Arya, Dhasmana said the BJP should try to keep its flock together rather than making useless statements. He added the BJP in Uttarakhand was facing rampant factionalism and many of its MLAs were feeling suffocated in the party. — TNS

Dehradun, June 16
Due to less flow of water in rivers, power generation in the state has been affected significantly.

According to power department sources, as on June 15, against the requirement of over 35 million units of power, only 19.32 million units of power are being generated in the state and additional 14.13 million units are being procured from the Centre.

The state power department is also purchasing 100 mega watt of power at the rate of Rs 4.66 per unit. Thus, with the shortage of power, the state is now left with little option than to go for power cuts.

While power cut in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar is being done for 4 hours, power cuts are being done in the regions of Kashipur, Rudrapur, Roorkie and Haldwani for 2 hours. Similarly, 1 hour power cut is being imposed on the hill areas of Garhwal and Kumaon regions.

Dehradun, June 16
Ashok Kumar is the new Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) or Chief Executive Officer of Dehradun Municipal Corporation. This Provincial Civil Services (PCS) officer of the 1990 batch, who worked in Uttar Pradesh until 2011 has now been moved to the Uttarakhand cadre for hailing from Nainital.

He is an officer with a professional approach toward work. “I always look for dedicated and sincere people in my team who can give good results within the constraints of the system. Despite limited resources and manpower, I have adhered to this approach and it has worked wonders for me,” he said.

As MNA, he soon sensed the problem of the area. He said, “We are still guided by the DMC Act of 1959 adopted by the Uttar Pradesh government. UP has made improvements in the guidelines given under the Act but we are still stuck to the old format. The DMC needs more discretionary powers to do justice to its role. I am discussing the issue with officials at the Secretariat level and hope to do something concrete about it.”

He said, “The imposition of commercial and house tax over the properties, which come under the domain of the DMC, would be a meaty step in rendering it financially independent. Even the state government wants the DMC to be self-sustainable whereas we are more dependent on the state as well as Centre’s grants for running our affairs. With the imposition of tax and periodic review of its assessment, we will become financially strong and will be able to function more emphatically.”

He found widespread encroachment over the DMC land a burgeoning menace. Kumar also stressed that the DMC required to fight its legal battles pending in various courts in this regard more seriously and must also render the attempts of encroachment futile by taking timely action on them.

He said, “We will put the information regarding the DMC properties in the city over our website so that people can inform us if they come to know of any encroachment over them.” He also sought cooperation from political parties in not supporting the encroachers or encroachment in the name of vote-bank politics.

Rapid and effective implementation of sewerage waste management, a scheme spearheaded in the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in August last year is indeed on his top priority.

He said, “We have already covered 30 wards under this scheme, where garbage is collected from every household, including the slum colonies, and dumped at trenching ground.

The scientific land fill plant is near completion at Shishambara after which we will be able to treat biodegradable and non-biodegradable garbage at the plant.”

He also considers city beautification an important function of the DMC and said the Gandhi park, a popular public park, was being beautified by the DMC, after which even other parks would be considered on the same lines.

He is equally concerned about the working conditions in which the employees of the DMC has to work and has thus given directions to repair and paint those parts of the old DMC building which have worn out with time and negligence.

Dehradun, June 16
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi today honoured students from various schools at a function held at the Chalet Hall at Nainital under the aegis of Lake City Club.

The function was held in the memory of late Pitambar Dutt Tiwari, noted poet, writer and musician.

The Governor congratulated the students and urged them to dedicate their energy and talent to maintain and nurture peace and harmony in the country which is a symbol of unity in diversity. “Resolve to ensure that every region and every home in the country is illumined by the light of prosperity,” he said.

He appreciated the cultural programme presented by the students on the occasion. The programme was based on the spirit of sacrifice of Indian Army. He expressed gratitude to the Army on behalf of the nation.

Qureshi honoured Bishambarnath Sakha for preserving culture, Khemraj Bist for promoting art and music and Asha Pandey for contribution in the field of education.

He presented Parvati Tiwari, wife of Pitambar Dutt Tiwari, a shawl.

The programme began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the Governor. Hema Bhatt, patron of the Lake City Club, gave a report on the activities of the club, saying that the club, set up in 2006, was devoted to resolving social issues and creating awareness among citizens about various important matters.

Dehradun, June 16
Strikers Sports Academy here is organising a month-long summer camp for schoolchildren.

The camp that was inaugurated on May 23 is witnessing participation of as many as 275 schoolchildren, prominently from Brightland, St Joseph’s Academy, Summer Valley, Doon International, Heritage School, Scholars Home and St Thomas School.

While the morning shift of the camp is conducted at MKP College, the evening shift activities take place at Bannu School. Teaching of western dances and personality development classes are also part of the camp. The camp will conclude on June 24.

Dehradun, June 16
Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi today gave away prizes to winners of the Summer Sailing Reggatta Boat Race .The first prize was bagged by Gaurav Sanwal.

The Governor was the chief guest at a function organised jointly by the Nainital Yacht Club and the Boat House Club. He congratulated the Yacht Club for completing 100 years of its existence. He said there was a great scope for adventure tourism and water sports in Uttarakhand and the that events like sailing regatta could be held in the various lakes in the region, attracting a large number of tourists.

The Governor assured organisers all support by him for such events. Winners in the 10 categories were given prizes out of which seven prizes went to Gaurav Sanwal.