Sitarganj Byelection
Pant: BJP fighting against horse-trading by Cong
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 22
The BJP is fighting the Sitarganj Assembly byelection on the issue of undemocratic acts of the Congress leadership in the state, including horse-trading and the discontinuing of pro-people policies introduced during the previous BJP government, Prakash Pant, BJP candidate, told this correspondent over the phone today.

Pant, who would be taking on Congress candidate and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, said the BJP was sure of winning the Sitarganj seat as the people of the region were fed up with the fake assurances of the state government. “The voters in Sitarganj have now realised that the Congress and the Chief Minister have nothing to offer to them and they have not addressed problems of all sections of voters of the constituency,” said Pant.

He added the Sitarganj seat, which was represented by the BSP in the state Assembly till this year and by the Congress in Parliament, had lacked even basic facilities of school, health and employment in villages for the last 10 years. The development process in the area had remained standstill for the last 10 years, rendering it backward in comparison to other parts of the state, said Pant.

“Though the BJP is fighting the byelection on the issue of undemocratic acts of the Congress, we are committed to working for providing employment generating projects in the area as the people of Sitarganj need them the most,” he said.

“The state government has not only created problems of electricity, water and cooking gas in the Sitarganj area, but also deceived Bengali voters by issuing an unclear order on land ownership rights. It has offered no policy solution to the problems of other settlers in the area,” said Pant. 

Congress still eyeing BJP MLAs: Nishank
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 22
Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today claimed that the Congress was still eying BJP legislators and trying to lure them by offering money or other illegal means as it had done in the case of former BJP legislator from Sitarganj Kiran Mandal.

Nishank was speaking to mediapersons at the state guest house near the Ganga canal at Damkoti here. He said it was the lowest ebb in the state politics as state Cabinet ministers were applying all illegal measures to lure opposition legislators so that the Congress could reach the majority mark of 36 in the Uttarakhand Assembly.

NIshank defended the induction of the then Congress legislator from Dhumakot, Pauri Garhwal, Tej Pal Singh Rawat, into the BJP and said the cases of TPS Rawat and Kiran Mandal were different as Rawat had resigned from the Congress owing to his disenchantment with the polices of the party while Mandal defected to the Congress for the sake of money and assurance of landownership rights to Bengali migrants.

Nishank, MLA from the Doiwala, also criticised Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for declaring many cities, including Haridwar, as power-cut free zones and said making lofty claims should also go with ground work. He cited a power cut during his press conference at the state guest house to stress the point.

Asked about the projection of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a probable Prime Ministerial candidate by the BJP, he said as soon as the party high command took a decision every one would get to know. He, however, refused to comment on a debate on Modi’s ‘secular’ credentials started by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Nishank also denied that there was factionalism in the BJP both at the national and state levels. He said as it was a national party the family was growing with thousands joining it regularly. Hence, conflict of ideas or interests was bound to be there but it did not mean that there was factionalism in the party.  

Hike in salary of contractual doctors on cards
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22
Having failed to attract contractual doctors to fill posts lying vacant in government hospitals, the state government is mulling hiking remuneration being offered to doctors on contract and also revising the criteria of the selection of government doctors selected for postgraduate diploma courses.

Faced with the burgeoning gap between demand and supply of medical professionals in government hospitals and its exercise of recruiting contractual doctors receiving lukewarm response, the government is now planning to offer Rs 60,000 per month to medicos with postgraduate degrees, Rs 55,000 per month to PG diploma holders and Rs 50,000 per month with plain MBBS degrees to be posted in hospitals located in inaccessible areas of the state. They would also receive other allowances and perks.

In extreme inaccessible areas, postgraduate degree holders would receive Rs 70,000 per month, postgraduate diploma holders Rs 65,000 per month and MBBS degree holders would get Rs 60,000 per month.

"From time to time, we have been receiving suggestions for revising the salaries being offered to doctors on contract and make them more attractive. The proposal for the revision of salaries and norms for the selection of postgraduate doctors is being looked into and once it is done, it is likely to be brought in the Cabinet for approval," said Surinder Singh Negi, state Health Minister.

Besides this, the salaries of contractual doctors recruited to serve in hospitals located in the plain areas would also be hiked. Those with postgraduate diplomas are expected to receive Rs 50,000 per month, those with postgraduate degrees would get Rs 45,000 and those with MBBS degrees would get Rs 40,000 per month along with other allowances.

Significantly, suggestions have also been made for revising the selection procedure for PG diploma courses. According to the arrangement reached with the Uttar Pradesh Government soon after Uttarakhand was created, a total of 15 seats for postgraduate diploma courses in eight medical colleges of Uttar Pradesh 
were reserved for government doctors.

The serving government doctors are selected on the basis of the annual confidential report, experience and the place of posting. To reward the doctors serving in the hospitals of inaccessible and extreme inaccessible, it has been suggested that they be given 50 and 100 marks while evaluating the place of posting.

Significantly, since the creation of the state only 69 contractual doctors selected through the UPSC managed to join the state government hospitals, even as the total percentage of posts filled by government doctors is 44.5 per cent in the state.

Swami Sanand detained, released
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 22
Fearing deterioration of law and order situation due to their presence in Haridwar, the police today detained Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand, Magsaysay award winner Rajendra Singh, Balbeer Tomar and Ved Pratap Vedic as soon as they reached Haridwar from Pauri Garhwal this afternoon.

Later, the police took them to the district border at Narsain and released them.

According to information, after reaching Haridwar, Swami Sanand wanted to hold a press conference in the evening. However, as soon as the local intelligence unit and the police got to know about this, they detained the engineer-turned-saint along with others from the Sapt Rishi region and took them to the district border at Narsain.

Meanwhile, Matra Sadan Ashram has condemned this describing it as tyrannical as Swami Sanand has always been carrying out non- violent and peaceful agitations.

Venture to give low-cost medical treatment to needy, saints
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 22
In the first of its kind joint venture, Bhoomanand Dharmarth Charitable Hospital has joined hands with Noida-based Kailash Hospital, a professional medical service provider. The venture aims at providing free and low cost medical treatment to poor, needy and saints in Haridwar.

Revered religious guru Mahamandaleshwar Swami Achutyanand Teerth Maharaj announced it here today. He runs the charitable hospital wing, which was established in memory of his guru late Bhoomanand Maharaj. The hospital has made a name for itself owing to minimum expenses taken from poor and needy patients.

“As medical science is taking leaps with newer researches and equipment, it was felt that to run a specialised medical hospital and nursing college purely by saints and charitable trust was not efficient. That’s why we are collaborating with Kailash Hospital,” added Swami Achutyanand at a press conference here today.

Dr Mahesh Sharma, Director of Kailash Hospital group, said within six weeks, Bhoomanand Hospital would have state-of-the-art facilities and equipment like CT scan, radiators, MRI, Intense Care Unit, specialised heart care unit and other super speciality facilities as are found in other leading hospitals these days.

The charitable objective of Bhoomannad Hospital will not change a bit with the core focus being poor, needy and saints who can’t afford expensive treatment facilities. For the Char Dham pilgrims, nearby hilly district and rural people, this will come as a boon as in whole Haridwar district, there are no such facilities,” said Dr Mahesh.

While Dr Ritu Verma, Director of the medical group, said in the country, this was the first of its kind joint initiative where charitable aspect met super-speciality facilities.

Lakhwad project to start power generation from August
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22
Subhash Kumar, Chairman of the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, has said the 300 MW Lakhwad Project will start functioning from August. Subhash had a detailed discussion with Secretary, Union Water Resources Ministry, Dhruv Vijay in this regard in New Delhi today. The Union Secretary assured him that all approvals for the project would be cleared by July 15.

Subhash said 33 per cent of the work on Rs 3,000 crore Lakhwad Project was complete. He added 330 million cubic litre (MCL) of water would be collected in the reservoir and of which 165 MCL would be available to Delhi for drinking purpose and another 165 MCL for irrigation purpose in Uttarakhand.

The Union Secretary described the project as important and said it would be instrumental in resolving the water problem in Delhi. Subhash also had a telephonic conversation with the Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government.

Dhruv Vijay directed the Chief Secretaries of the Delhi and Uttarakhand governments and the Chairman of UJVNL to hold a meeting on the issue immediately.

Subhash said as soon as the approvals were received, the work on the project would begin, possibly by August. Previously, the work was proposed to begin in December, 2012. Subhash is at present in Delhi to discuss the matter with high-level officers and get the necessary approvals.

Top police officers discuss Kanwar mela preparations
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 22
With the Kanwar mela set to begin from July 4, a high-level inter- state meeting was held at the CCR tower here today. The meeting, which was presided over by Garhwal Commissioner Kunal Sharma, stressed on mutual coordination and better dissemination of information among the states.

The decision regarding the strict implementation of law and order and traffic rules was also taken during the meeting. The Dak Kanwar Moto Vehicle Act will also be in place this year. It had been waived in the previous Kanwar seasons.

The pilgrimage on goods ferrying vehicles will not be allowed and kanwariyas driving without helmet will not be allowed to enter Uttarkahand. A special security cell will be established that will monitor security measures during the fair. DIG, Dehradun range, Sanjay Gunjiyal has also been appointed nodal officer for the fair.

The main focus will be on the ultra-sensitive Har-ki-Pauri mela zone, where CCTV cameras would be installed to check the movement of miscreants. Thirty heavily armed mobile squads will also be deployed in the zone.

SP (city) Kiran Lal Shaw said as they had received several threat letters with regard to causing disruption during the fair, the administration is making all efforts to ensure round-the-clock patrolling in sensitive areas.

At the kanwar stretch, Har-ki-Pauri mela zone, high-mast lamp posts are being installed to ensure the smooth conduct and movement of kanwariyas. While 50 handpumps are already in working condition, 50 water tankers will also be pressed into service to quench the thirst of kanwariyas and police personnel on kanwar duty.

As the rush of kanwariyas is increases after July 10 when 'panchak' gets over, the kanwar market alongside the Ganga ghat will be removed.

DM, Tehri Garhwal, Ranjeet Singh, DM, Saharanpur, Ajay Kumar Singh, SSP, Dehradun, Neeru Garg, SP, Tehri, Janmayjay Khanduri, CDO Gaziabad Suresh Kumar Rathore, ADM, Meerut, Vinod Singh, SP (city), Muzaafarnagar RK Yadav, SP (city), Saharanpur, AS Rai, SSP, Haridwar, Arun Mohan Joshi, and SP, Haridwar city, KL Shaw were also present.

Power situation improves

Dehradun, June 22
The faltering power situation recovered to a large extent on Thursday with a significant upsurge in the power generation to the tune of 21.7 million unit. As against the soaring power demand which remained 36.09 MU, the power availability stood at 34.9 MU yesterday.

Uttarakhand Power Corporation claimed that the duration of power cuts was reduced to two hours at different places in district Haridwar and rural areas of district Udham Singh Nagar. — TNS

DM tells councillors to follow code of conduct
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22
District Magistrate Ravinath Raman has asked the councillors of wards 37 and 38 to follow the modal code of conduct in force owing to the byelections in the wards. He said the candidates should also submit the detail of their everyday expenses. The DM further said they should not paste election posters on anybody’s house wall without the owner’s permission. The use of loudspeakers would be banned from 9 pm to 9 am.

After the elections on June 27, no public meeting would be allowed after 5 pm.

He said the candidates would be allowed to use only one vehicle for which permit would be issued by the returning officer.

The DM said strict action would be taken against those who would flout the modal code of conduct.

Soaring heat, lack of rain deepens water crisis
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, June 23
With soaring temperatures and no rain in sight, the drinking water crisis has deepened in Mogi village of the Jaunpur block in Tehri Garhwal district. According to Mogi village residents, all natural sources of water around the village have dried up, causing a scarcity of water for drinking and other purposes. All requests to the administration to send water tanks has bore no results.

A delegation from village headed by gram pradhan Surat Ram met the District Magistrate (DM), Tehri, at his office today and apprised him of the situation. It requested the DM to immediately address the water crisis in their village or their livestock and people could die of thirst. Till now the villagers were quenching their thirst by transporting water on mules from the Yamuna for the past one month.

Surat Ram said the villagers had shown helplessness in using the services of mules as the animals were unable to bear the burden due to intensive heat and lack of water and it was becoming a costly affair for them.

They requested the DM to inspect the area personally to assess the situation and direct the officials concerned to look for alternative sources to provide immediate relief to the villagers from the water crisis.

The DM assured the delegation of alternative arrangements soon. On the other hand, rain in Mussoorie today brought down the temperature considerably. The rain began around 4 pm and continued for a few hours, forcing tourists and local residents to stay indoors. Fog accompanied with rain reduced visibility to bare minimum, forcing vehicles to move slowly on Mall Road. This is second spell of rain here in June. 

Doon City Magistrate’s son thrashed
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22
City Magistrate Harak Singh Rawat has lodged a complaint against BJP leader Umesh Aggarwal for thrashing his 18-year-old son Rahul and tearing his clothes at the Sidharth Paradise complex at Panditwari.

Aggarwal has build flats at the complex and was supervising the construction of other flats. It was around 3 pm when Rahul went to his uncle Narender Singh Rawat’s house. He pressed the horn of his car a couple of times, infuriating Aggarwal who came out and abused the boy. Rahul objected to his behaviour, at which Aggarwal got furious and beat him up and tore his clothes as well

Rawat, who was out of station, returned today and saw his son’s condition. He talked to Aggarwal who apologised but arrogantly said he did not know that the boy was his son. Upset at Aggarwal’s response, Rawat lodged a complaint with the police. SHO, Cantt police, SS Rawat is investigating the case.

Three children go missing

Three children, Alam Khan (10), Noor Alam (8) and Ismail Khan (7) went missing from Ghisarpadi in Cantt district. Babu Khan, father of Alam and Noor, works as a labour at Ballpur Chowk. The third child is Babu Khan’s nephew and son of Yunus Khan. Babu Khan told the police that the children did not want to study in the madarasa while he had been pressuring them to study there. This forced the children they go missing from the madarasa for the last two days. They had left home on this issue twice earlier and had come back on their own after spending a few days at a relative’s place.

Theft at temple

A bulk of bells and two silver covers placed at the sanctum sanctorum of a local temple in Raiwala were stolen on Thursday night. The police suspected it to be the handiwork of locals. Thefts had been committed in the same temple twice earlier.

Tanakpur project records more power generation
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 22
The Tanakpur hydroelectric project of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation situated at Banbasa town, Champawat, has started generating more electricity for the past 15 days. It is getting the maximum available water flow at present due to the melting of glaciers at the Sharda basin.

According to officials, the project is getting 680 cubic metres per second at present and generating 94 MW, which is 100 per cent capacity of the project.

The project, which has started receiving full required water flow for the past 15 days, has started generating power at full capacity that is 456 million units.

According to sources, power generation in the Lohiahead power project has also increased to 27 MW from 18 MW. “Though the monsoon is yet to reach this area, the water flow in the Sharda river has started increasing due to the melting of glaciers,” said Surendra Singh, an engineer at the Sharda headworks, Banbasa.

Engineers at the Tanakpur project say by October 15 the power generation will be highest at the project.

Man beaten in Mussoorie
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, June 22
In order to settle old scores, a man was allegedly beaten by two brothers from the same village. The incident took place on Camel Back Road yesterday. The police reached the spot and apprehended the two brothers while Vikram Singh, 32, resident of the Bichoo village of the Jaunpur block in Tehri Garhwal, was taken to the nearest government hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

According to the local police, the incident took place last night when Guddu (32) and Arvind (21) from the same village pounced on Vikram and started beating him. Vikram sustained injuries on his eyes and face. The accused were apprehended and sent to court today.

Dinesh Aggarwal inaugurates mini-tubewell
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22
State Planning and Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal inaugurated a mini tubewell constructed at a cost of 32.30 lakh at Bandarwali Gulli, Lakhiwala Bagh, here today. It will provide regular water supply to 1,000 families residing in the area. Since the area is located at a height, people face acute water shortage during summer.

The minister also laid the foundation stone of a scheme under the Drinking Water Improvement Project at Gurdwara Colony and of a Rs 12-lakh project at Khatta Colony on Turner Road. He also inspected a nullah passing through the area.

Agarwal claimed that it was top priority of his government to provide potable water and electricity to the public. He said a master plan for regular water supply and power was also being prepared for the residents of the city.

He further said hydropower projects were the reliable source of revenue for the state and the stalling of these projects had caused a huge loss to the state exchequer.

He has directed officials of the Drinking Water Department to run the tubewell at Lakhibagh for four hours each in morning and evening.

He also gave an assurance to residents of the Turner Road to get 29 tubewells and 24 overhead water tanks constructed in their area.