New rule to check Kanwariyas' entry may prove a boon to forest staff
Dehradun, June 24
With Uttarakhand deciding to check movement of Kanwariyas beyond Haridwar, Uttarakhand forest authorities managing Gangotri National Park may finally have some sight of relief as Kanwar season begins on July 4 this year.

Bhatta Falls, pride of Mussoorie, faces neglect
Mussoorie, June 24
Bhatta Falls, a major tourist destination located around 6 km from Mussoorie that was once the pride of the region, is facing neglect due to the apathy of concerned departments and is crying for attention.

That man with the long moustache
Haridwar, June 24
He is known as the man with a rope-like moustache in his home city Bikaner, and is now used to the attention he gets wherever he goes, owing to his dedicated efforts in making his moustache 17-feet long.

Dehradun June 24
Former Chief Minister ND Tiwari pulled up officials of the PWD and the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) for delaying work related to widening of the Chakrata Road.

Tiwari, who reached Chakrata Road without any intimation this evening, was displeased to see work proceeding at a snail's pace. The shopkeepers of the area too surrounded him and shared their grievances with him.

Tiwari called PWD official on the phone and scolded him saying that the department left the construction work of drain in the middle and began laying road which too had not been completed and now the department had also taken the electricity work in its hand.

After pulling up the PWD official, he then called up Managing Director, MDDA , RM Sundaram and took him to task for not taking up the widening work seriously. He directed him to cooperate with the PWD and expedite the project.

The aggrieved shopkeepers too gathered around him in a jiffy. They complained of slow pace of work and said no deadline had been fixed to complete the work.

In view of the construction work in the progress, the dirt and dust discouraged the customers to come on this road for shopping which was affecting their work severely, they said. Tiwari assured them that the matter would be taken up with the state government.

Dehradun, June 24
With Uttarakhand deciding to check movement of Kanwariyas beyond Haridwar, Uttarakhand forest authorities managing Gangotri National Park may finally have some sight of relief as Kanwar season begins on July 4 this year.

Shiv bhakts, the Kanwariyas, have been reaching the Gangotri area in Uttarakhand in large numbers in the past few decades. The region houses Gaumukh, the source the Ganga, which is linked to Lord Shiva and thus is the main reason that attracts the Kanwariyas to this place. On an average, a minimum of a thousand Kanwariyas visit Gangotri every day during the annual Kanwariya season, which has always been a matter of concern among ecologists.

Uttarakhand government had a few days back decided to limit movement of Kanwariyas up to Haridwar district this year. But the Uttarakhand government has been finding it difficult to restrict their entry into Gangotri even though the forest authorities' decision to limit the number of pilgrims is already in force. As per the restrictions in place at Gangotri, only 150 pilgrims per day are being allowed entry, that too after payment of a fee, be it a tourist or a pilgrim. But then restricting Kanwariyas has not been an easy task as cases of forcible entry by them is rampant. Gangotri National Park's Director IP Singh said the limit of 150 people inside Gangotri National Park per day is being strictly observed for the visitors. He said the stateforest authorities every year put up posters at bus stations and public places where pilgrims and tourists often gather so as to inform them about the limitations. These posters are meant to inform the visitors of the new entry laws applicable at Gangotri. He said the new rule of limiting Kanwariyas into Haridwar will certainly act as a deterrent for those in the habit of visiting Gangotri National Park. 

Mussoorie, June 24
Bhatta Falls, a major tourist destination located around 6 km from Mussoorie that was once the pride of the region, is facing neglect due to the apathy of concerned departments and is crying for attention.

Bhatta Falls is an ideal tourist spot for bathing and picnicking but due to the neglect shown by the concerned departments, it is losing its natural beauty. The tourists who visit the falls are forced to face several problems due to absence of basic facilities.

The proposed beautification drive also has been caught between the tussle of two executive agencies, Mussoorie Municipal Council and Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), as both departments claim their rightful ownership, resulting in further neglect.

The road leading to Bhatta Falls that was dug up by the Pey Jal Nigam for laying sewage pipelines under JNNURM scheme has not been repaired and is inviting danger to the life of tourists.

The condition of the basic amenities, such as adequate parking and public toilets, is poor, forcing the tourists to look elsewhere to spend quality time during the summer holidays.

It is worth mentioning that MDDA was the agency that had carried some beautification drive in 2004. The department handed over the Bhatta Falls area to members of Mussoorie Hotel Association for maintenance under Public Private Partnership, but in 2010 the association refused to maintain the falls as the sewage project that began the same year damaged the road leading to the falls. The MDDA also forgot about the falls after the start of the sewage project and since that day the tourist spot is still waiting for its upgradation. Despite assurances by senior officials at various meetings, no work has been initiated so far and the proposals are still biting the dust.

When contacted, the official from MDDA said that his department had initiated several works at the falls but were facing immense problems due to the ongoing sewage project and renovation work of the Galogi power house situated near the spot. He also said that a detailed project report for multi-level development of the area had been sent for the approval of the government, and once approved Bhatta Falls will regain the old glory. 

Dehradun, June 24
The month-long football summer camp, organised by the Wills Youth Club (WYC), concluded here today. The camp witnessed participation of 20 boys from the Mathurawala, Defence Colony, Nawada and the MDDA colony, learning the fundamentals of football from skilled coaches.

The club is hosting the annual camp since 2000. Former international footballer Amar Bahadur was the chief guest at the concluding function and he felicitated the budding players.

Speaking on the occasion, Bahudur said, “Football needs special focus in Dehradun. Short-term camps help young players improve their skills but for a qualitative change in local football, we need a long-term planning at the grass-root level.”

Bahadur suggested that players should be spotted and a group of talented footballers should be formed. “Besides conducting the camp, the organisers should also spot players.

They should form a group of highly-skilled players spotted during the camp, to be invited in the next camp,” added Bahadur.

In all, 20 boys in the under16 age group attended the camp, which was overseen by coaches, namely Tajendra Prasad, Arpan Thapa and Himanshu. The kids learned the finer points of the game the month-long camp.

The Wills Youth Club is a prominent football club in Dehradun.

The free camp was organized by the club as a social responsibility project. The camp began on May 24 at the MDDA ground.

Tajendra Prasad, president of the WYC, said, “We received an overwhelming response from the participants.

Football is popular in the Doon valley and our club is committed to the development of sports in Dehradun.

The completion of first hundred days of the Congress government led by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was marked more by political management to stay afloat that created a lot of controversy than governance. The winning over an opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator by the ruling Congress has started a controversy with far-reaching consequences on the politics of the state.

After the Congress won a razor-thin victory in the Assembly elections, the selection of Vijay Bahuguna, a Lok Sabha MP from Tehri Garhwal, as Chief Minister triggered a near revolt by Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat and his supporters. Apart from winning over independents, BSP and the lone UKD (P) legislators to cobble up a majority, Bahuguna had a tough time in managing his own flock of Congress legislators. With active support from the party high command, he was able to placate Harish Rawat by offering ministerial berths and other positions, including a Rajya Sabha berth to his supporters.

The formation of his ministry also remained a tough job as independents, BSP and lone UKD (P) legislators were given ministerial berths. Most of the initial one-and-a-half month of the tenure was spent in the political management with Chief Minister frequenting the national capital for advice and consultations with the party high command. Many ministers owing allegiance to Harish Rawat were reluctant in taking up their jobs as they were unhappy with the allocation of the portfolios. However, slowly, they realized the ground realities and started working.

The state Congress government won its first floor test with the passage of the first budget of the Bahuguna government this month. The budget was passed without any major hiccup despite the fact that many of the ministers, including some senior ministers, were found wanting in their replies in the House.

Another bigger challenge for Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was to look for a safe assembly segment for himself to enter the state assembly. Amid mounting opposition from within the party from the powerful Harish Rawat camp, it was a difficult task to get a seat for the Chief Minister without disturbing the fragile majority of the ruling combination.

The ruling party then did a coup of sorts by getting opposition BJP legislator Kiran Mandal representing the Sitarganj assembly segment in Udham Singh Nagar district resign his seat. As part of the deal, the state government gave ownership rights of the leased agricultural lands to the Bengali immigrants. The Bengali population has a majority in the Assembly segment followed by the Muslim community. The second demand of the Bengali community to grant the Scheduled Castes status to "Namo Shudras" among the Bengali immigrants was sent to the Union Government for action by the state government. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is the Congress candidate for the byelection for the Sitarganj assembly seat to be held on July 8.

However, the winning over of Kiran Mandal did create a controversy where the main opposition BJP accused the Chief Minister and the Congress of introducing a culture of horse trading of legislators and spending a huge amount of money to win over the loyalties of opposition legislators.

The outcry by the BJP which also went to complain against the Chief Minister to the Election Commission did put brakes on the Congress game plan to win over another BJP legislator.

Bhim Lal Arya, BJP legislator from Ghansali in Tehri Garhwal district, went missing and there were strong indications that he would be resigning his seat also. After persistent efforts to contact him failed, senior BJP leaders also announced that Bhim Lal Arya was "gone". Interestingly, Bhim Lal Arya also wrote a letter to party president Nitin Gadkari asking him not to field BJP candidate against Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. However, on the other hand, a section of senior Congress party leaders felt that any more defections after Kiran Mandal episode at a crucial moment where Chief Minister is fighting a byelection would send a wrong signal among the masses. So, the Congress managers, stalled the "Operation Bhim Lal Arya" and allowed him to go home. Back at his native place Ghansali, Bhim Lal Arya again switched tune and reaffirmed his commitment to his BJP. He was brought to Dehradun and paraded before the media in presence of senior party leaders BC Khanduri and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

Political analayts believe that the trend started by the Congress government to manage a majority and to reach a magic figure of 36 legislators on their own so that they could dispense with the crutches of the BSP, Independents and lone UKD (P) legislator, was wrong.

On the governance front, there is much that the Congress government can claim during the past 100 days. The state faced the worst water and power crisis during the ongoing summer season with power cuts extending to hours together. Bahuguna took a decision to restart the stalled hydro-electric projects in the state but met with stiff opposition from saints and environmental groups. He pleaded for re-starting of the stalled projects at the meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority meet chaired by Prime Minister on May 17 but the meeting remained inconclusive.

Dehradun, June 24
The Aryan Group, a group of youths working for socio-cultural development, today distributed clothes to poor children at Veer Gabbar Singh Basti at Kathbangla in Rajpur of Dehradun.

The Aryan Group youths led by their president Faizi Aleem reached Veer Gabbar Singh Basti and distributed 300 clothes to the poor children.

Faizi Aleem said their organisation had been working in the slums of Dehradun for past seven years.

He said the Aryan Group collected clothes from rich and middle strata of the society and distributed these clothes to poor children.

He said it was the dream of the Aryan Group to open an orphanage and an old-age home in Dehradun. Manish Godiyal, Yogesh Sharma, Asim Sheikh and Rajesh Kaniyal were among the Aryan Group members, who distributed the clothes.