Missing BJP MLA Arya resurfaces
Ghansali legislator denies rumours of deserting the party
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
BJP MLA Bhim Lal Arya, who had been missing for the past few days, resurfaced today in the company of senior leaders BC Khanduri and BS Koshiyari denying rumours that he had deserted the BJP.

Flanked by senior BJP leaders, Arya from Ghansali reiterated that he was not a commodity that could be auctioned in the market and the rumours about his sale at the hands of the Congress had sullied his image.

“I am not on sale, as I had been selected by the people. I have no intention of quitting the party that made me a hero by selecting my candidature for the Ghansali Assembly seat,” he said, while addressing a press conference today.

After a letter said to have been issued on his notepad proclaiming support for Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in the Sitarganj byelection mysteriously surfaced yesterday, the rumours of his exit from the BJP gained credence.

However, the MLA failed to give convincing answers about the letter that carried his signatures. “Many people come to me for getting work done. I may have signed the letter without reading the contents,” he said.

Since morning, the BJP camp was claiming that they had indeed managed to contact the MLA who would reach the BJP office to clarify his position on the matter. Once the MLA was presented before the media, senior BJP leaders blamed the media for carrying out a vicious campaign against the BJP to malign its image.

However, neither Koshiyari nor Khanduri had any answer as to why the leaders met the Governor on the issue.

On Saturday, Leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhatt had proclaimed that the party was in the dark about Arya’s whereabouts and was apprehensive that the Congress, too, was wooing him.

Party sources claim that Arya was forced to retreat his steps after the locals in his constituency took out a mock procession condemning the perfidious act. Sensing an end to his political career, Arya thought it wise to to step back.

Pro-project activists hold agitations
Janmanch burns effigy of Centre
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
Enraged over stalling of work on hydropower projects in the state, members of Uttarakhand Janmanch (UJ) burnt effigies of the Centre and Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati at Clock Tower in the city today.

The members also announced that they would bar entry of Shankaracharya in hills by calling a public parliament in Pipalkoti in the month of September. Similar protests were also carried out in Chamba, Gopeshwar, Uttarkashi and Srinagar on the call given by JM.

The members of UJ and students raised slogans against stalling of work on Lohari Nagpala, Bhaironghati, Pala Maneri and Srinagar hydropower projects in the state. General secretary, JM, Rajen Todriya, also castigated the Centre for the same reasons and said Congress would have to pay the price for it in the Tehri Lok Sabha byelection.

General secretary, Pipalkoti Pariyojna Bachao Sangarsh Smiti, Rajender Hatwal, said there were few people who were opposing hydropower projects, and those must not be allowed to stay in the hill state anymore.

General secretary, DAV Students' Union Bhagwati Prasad Maindoli, said the closure of hydroelectric projects would only increase unemployment in the state, which the students would not tolerate at all and would launch a big movement on this issue. State president, Uttarakhand Mahila Janmanch, Urmila Pant, said the women of the state were ready to do anything to protect the employment rights of their children and would support the youth and activists in restarting work on these hydropower projects in the state. 

Power projects must for state’s development: Kranti Manch
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 18
With hydro power projects on the Ganga becoming a contentious issue, pro-dam activists are now citing development as the major factor for giving these projects a go-ahead.

Opposing the movement at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, by saints spearheaded by Jagadguru Shankaracharya Jyotish-Dwarka Peeth Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, pro-power project activists held an agitation today in Haridwar against stalling of these projects.

Those lending them support are Uttarakhand statehood activists who observed a one-day symbolic agitation and carried out a march, pressing for hydro projects in Uttarakhand.

Founder of the Uttarakhand Kranti Manch JP Pandey said dams should be constructed. Though he made it clear that they too didn't want the sanctity of the Ganga be affected as well as negative impact on the local ecology, for which a high-level expert committee should be formed prior to sanctioning of 
such projects.

Women activist Meera Raturi said development and economy of the state largely depended on power generation and water availability needs to be utilised as it will solve the power crisis of not only the state but also of the country.

Lamenting that be it Lohari Nagpala or Bhairon Ghati, more than 70pc of the work had been completed with crores of rupees being spent before they were closed down by the Central Government, Manch activist Shivani Gaud said the loss to the exchequer was a matter of concern as hundreds of people had also lost employment due to closing of these projects.

Protesters staged an agitation in front of the city magistrate office and handed over a memorandum to him to be forwarded to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Environment Minister Jayanti Natrajan and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

UPCL to buy power worth Rs 774 crore
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
Fund-strapped Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), which has incurred a loss of above Rs 1,960 crore, has formulated a plan to purchase power worth Rs 774 crore to make up for power shortage up to March next year.

Besides 50 MW already purchased during May, an additional 100 MW is being purchased. Hydropower generation has improved and the tally went up from 12 MU to 20 MU today when rain occurred in various parts of the state.

For June alone 50 MW has been purchased and it is intended that rostering will not be resorted to as fluctuation in power generation in the past 10 days has changed the forecast and pushed the state into a power crisis.

As much as 100 MW will be given through the banking mode during July, August and September this year which will be returned in three months from November to March next year at the rate of 10.49 per cent. As much as 50 MW has been purchased for the period October to March next year.

Besides, more power required for August will be met through bidding. In this way, 50 MW will be purchased for October, 200 MW for November, 275 MW for December, 350 MW for January, 300 MW for February and 200 MW for March under the zero rostering plan.

The total power purchase for 2012-134 will be 1,343 MU. Besides, 500 MU will also be drawn through unscheduled interchange.

The total power purchased from the open market and the UI will be about Rs 774 crore at the rate of Rs 4.20 per unit.

The Uttarakhand Electricity Regulatory Commission (UERC) has allowed a purchase of 1,996 MU worth Rs 817 crore for the current financial year. The UPCL has adhered to the guidelines set by the UERC for the financial year.

No decision on docs’ appointment
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
Frequent shuffling of IAS officers in the Health Department has had a toll on the effective functioning of the department with several decisions being put on the back burner. So far the government has not taken a policy decision on the appointment of doctors to fill the existing vacancies.

“The matter pertaining to filling 110 posts of specialists is pending since 2011. Due to frequent changes in the administration, the matter has not been taken up,” said Dr B C Ramola, president of Provincial Medical and Health Services Association.

Things are expected to get increasingly difficult as under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)-2, the Central Government has put riders on the Uttarakhand government for the implementation of the programme and availability of Doctors is an important criterion.

“A great responsibility rests on the doctors for the implementation of the programme achieving the targets. The officials of the NRHM have already warned that if the issue of doctors is not addressed, the budget under the NRHM could be cut,” said a senior doctor.

Nanda Devi Rajjat Yatra
Chief Secy tells officials to make proper arrangements
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
For the first time after the formation of Uttarakhand state, the Nanda Devi Rajjat yatra will be held from August 30. About 300 ‘dolis’ (palanquins) will participate in the yatra from all over the state covering a distance of 280 km on foot in 19 days. Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain has directed the District Magistrates to make necessary arrangements on the yatra route after setting a deadline.

The Chief Secretary chaired a meeting on the Nanda Devi Rajjat yatra preparations at the secretariat here today. He said all arrangements for power supply, water, road, communication, heath and common kitchen should be made in time.

Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay in a power point presentation prepared after covering the 1,500 km yatra route provided important information. He said the preparations should be made on a war footing. About 35,000 persons had taken part in the last yatra in 2000 and the number this time was expected to be more. Tarun said the arrangement of medical facilities should be better at all halting points on the yatra route. He added medical check-ups in high altitude areas were also a must. He directed the officers concerned to ensure that the ban on the use of polythene bags was enforced and bio-diversity preserved during the yatra.

Tarun said there should be proper arrangements for mediapersons, as they would come not only from various parts of the country but also from foreign countries to cover the event. He announced that maximum funds would be granted for the yatra from his MP fund.

The Chief Secretary asked the officers concerned to prepare their action plans for the yatra. He directed them to depute nodal officers at 19 halting points, start construction of roads and other repair work at the earliest. He said difficult and very difficult points be categorised and vigilance arranged accordingly. He laid emphasis on maintaining the originality of the yatra and the unique heritage of Uttarakhand be preserved.

MLAs Rajendra Bhandari and Ganesh Joshi; DGP Vijay Raghav Pant; Principal Secretary, Industry, Rakesh Sharma; Principal Secretary (to Chief Minister) DK Kotia; Secretary, Information, MH Khan; Secretary, Tourism, SS Sandhu; Commissioner, Garhwal Region, Kunal Sharma; Secretary, Finance, Radha Raturi; Secretary, Transport, Umakant Panwar; Secretary, Social Welfare, Subardhan; besides District Magistrates of Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Nainital attended the meeting.

10% posts of forest guard lying vacant at Corbett Tiger Reserve
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
Over Rs 2 lakh per sq km has been so far provided to Corbett Tiger Reserve in the state since the inception of Project Tiger Directorate, which is higher than the national average of Rs 1 lakh per sq km being provided to other tiger reserves.

A Centre of Science and Environment report released recently on tiger reserves entitled ‘The challenges of inclusive protection’, quoting Project Tiger Directorate sources, revealed that Corbett has received a handsome funding from the Directorate and stood at 5th position on the list of 28 tiger reserves as far as getting funds from Project Tiger was concerned.

Corbett received over Rs 2 lakh per sq km and was only after Pench, Panna, Sariska and Tadoba in getting major chunk of funds. While part of Pench that falls in Maharashtra received more than Rs 3 lakh per sq km, Panna also received almost Rs 3 lakh per sq km. Sariska received more than Rs 2 lakh 50 thousand per sq km and Todoba got little less than Rs 2 lakh 50 thousand per sq km.

As far as infrastructure spending was concerned, Corbett is on the bottom of the list. Even in terms of the national average age of 42 years of front line staff, Corbett front line staff seems to be ageing. Interestingly, Corbett has been facing a lot of challenges on conservation front due to rampant tourism.

Corbett stands at 8th position among tiger reserves where front line staff age exceeds the national average age of 42 years. Palamu is the worst with the average age of its front line staff exceeding 50 years. In Simplipal average age of front line staff is 50 years. Further, the average age of front line staff in Ranthambore, Dampa, Sariska, Bandhavgarh and Dudhwa is above 45 years.

On vacancies of forest guard that form backbone of conservation in any tiger reserve, Corbett has ten per cent of the posts of forest guard lying vacant. However, the national average of shortage of forest guards in tiger reserves stand as high as 20 per cent of the total strength.

While describing tourism in tiger reserves as double-edged weapon, the CSE report suggests setting up of task force at tiger reserve to monitor tourism in the region. It asserts that no large hotel should be allowed at a distance of 3 km from the boundary of a reserve and calls for homestead tourism run by locals as an alternate.

Centre warned of stir if diesel price is hiked
3-day convention of BKU ends
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 18
Peasant leaders have warned the Centre of a massive agitation if the price of diesel is hiked. This was stated by them during the concluding day of the three-day national convention of farmers being organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU).

The leaders said if the price of diesel was hiked, peasants would suffer the most.

Addressing the gathering, chief of the Garhwal division of the BKU Sanjay Chaudhari alleged that the Centre was working on the directions of oil companies, who make business worth crores daily, but was not taking any notice of the woes of farmers and poor people who toil hard throughout the year.

Chaudhari warned of a nationwide agitation if diesel prices is hiked on the pretext of international market rates or losses to oil companies.

Demanding the minimum support price for sugarcane to be fixed at Rs 500 per quintal, national general secretary of the BKU Raj Pal Singh said every year, peasants have to take to the streets to ensure they get good price of their crops.

Citing problems being faced by farmers in Uttarakhand, farm representatives from the state read out a memorandum to be forwarded to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat, demanding a specific agriculture policy for the state.

A two-minute silence was also observed during the convention today to pay tributes to those farmers who were killed in police firing on June 15 in Delhi, when peasants tried to gherao the BJP headquarters.

Meanwhile, BKU leaders has warned other peasant outfits that try to portray themselves as the real BKU that they would take legal route if such organisations did not change the name of their party.

Didihat villagers urge Forest Dept to trap leopard
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 18
Residents of villages near Chaubati in Didihat subdivision of the district have requested the district administration and the Forest Department to immediately trap a leopard which has killed four villagers and is still prowling in the area.

The leopard killed a resident of Bhantar village, the fourth victim from the area, on June 15. The villages situated in dense forests were being frequented by leopards for the last two years, but this year a leopard had killed four persons in four months, said Sudama Joshi, sarpanch of Dhingtar village of the area.

According to villagers, due to the non-availability of animals in the forests, the leopard is attacking human beings. It killed a villager near Chopara village in January this year. It later killed a villager at Naulara, near Thal town. Ten days ago it picked up a Nepalese labourer, who was sleeping in a tent at Malaghula village, and killed him. The incident of Saturday was fourth in the area, said the villager.

Due to warm nights in the region, the villagers are nowadays sleeping in the open and thus becoming an easy target of the leopard. However, despite our repeated requests the Forest Department had not installed a cage to catch the leopard, said the villagers.

Rs 90,000 aid for karate player
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has rendered a financial assistance of Rs 90,000 to Vishwanath Rajput, a karate player and resident of Rishikesh. He said the government was committed to providing all possible help to nurture the talent in the state.

Rajput has been selected by the All-India Karate Federation to represent the country in the World Cup Karate Championship scheduled to be held at Busan, Korea, on August 18 and 19. The Chief Minister has also extended his best wishes to him.

IG to probe theft case
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 18
Taking cognizance of a theft that took place at a jewellery shop in Haldwani on June 15, the Director-General of Police, Vijay Raghav Pant has asked Inspector-General, Law and Order, Ram Singh Meena, Haldwani, to probe the case.

He has also directed the SSP, Nainital, to constitute a team of inspectors and sub-inspectors to solve the case.

The STF has also been asked to assist the Naintal police in this case.

Kishore Rai gets security

Dehradun, June 18
Kishore Rai, a gram pardhan of Shakti farms and a close relative of former BJP MLA Kiran Mandal, who had made allegations against the state government of purchasing the loyalty of the BJP legislator, has been provided X category of security by the state police.

Senior BJP leaders had requested Governor Aziz Qureshi to direct the state police to provide adequate security in the wake of threat to his life following his allegations against the ruling party.

A spokesperson of the state government said the X category of security would be immediately provided to Rai for the next six months. The Udham Singh Nagar district administration has been directed to act on the government orders immediately. — TNS