Dehradun, July 3
Though the pre-monsoon showers in the last two days have brought relief to the farmers, worried about the delay in planting paddy and other khariff crops, experts say any delay in the monsoons that are expected to hit the state shortly will hamper good crop prospects for the farmers, who are already worried by the absence of pre-monsoon rains in the months of May and June.

“Insufficient pre-monsoon showers have already proved a dampener for farmers growing traditional crops like fox tail millets in the hill districts of Uttarakhand. As almost all the areas in the hills are rain fed, these crops are dependent on pre-monsoon rains in the months of May and June. If the monsoon gets delayed further, paddy sowing would be affected, which, in turn will affect the total yield. It would be a double blow for the farmers,” said Madan Lal, Director, Agriculture (Uttarakhand).

The farmers who have begun making land preparation for transplanting the paddy crop are waiting for the pre-monsoon rains. The pre-monsoon showers increase the content in the soil moisture. “The temperature in the month of June hovered around 40 degrees C, which was not conducive for sowing paddy, especially in the rain-fed areas. The temperature has considerably gone down with two days of rain; it should remain that way for proper sowing of paddy, otherwise there are chances of outbreak of diseases,” said Lal.

In Uttarakhand 90 per cent of the area under rice is rain fed and Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun districts have maximum area under rice cultivation. Out of the total land under cultivation, which is around 10.74 per cent, only 9.49 per cent area is irrigated land. As such farmers with intensive irrigation facilities could only hope to beat the after-effects of the delayed monsoons.

In Uttarakhand rice varieties comprising Pant Dhan11 and early maturing varieties of paddy are extensively grown. Beside the sowing of pulses (Arhar), black gram (Urad), oilseeds like mustard and groundnut during khariff, too, is bound to be delayed.

“Our agriculture is dependent on good monsoons; a poor khariff season could also result in delay in harvesting, leading to poor rabi season, a worrisome trend for the farmers and the department,” said C.S. Mehra, Additional Director, Agriculture.

Though it is too early to predict the final shape the monsoons would take, among the contingency measures, the state could seek special assistance package from the Central government for farmers, provided the rainfall is 50 per cent less, as indicated by the Indian Meteorological Department and the state is declared drought affected. 

Devotees take a dip at Brahamkund, Har-ki-Pauri, on the occasion of Guru Poornima in Haridwar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Haridwar, July 3
The auspicious festival of Guru Poornima was celebrated with religious fervour here today with lakhs of devotees taking a holy dip in the Ganga. A large number of pilgrims were seen moving towards Braham Kund, Har-Ki-Pauri and adjacent ghats for a dip in the Ganga since early morning. They then visited various temples, ashrams and muths to pay obeisance to their gurus. A special function was organised at the Siddh Peeth Siddhashram where spiritual guru Yogeshwar Pusphanandan Maharaj delivered a sermon on the importance of having a guru, who guides his devotee on the path of truth.

At Shri Yogabhyas Ashram at Kankhal, Yogacharya Swami Shyam Lal offered prayers to Ram Lal Maharaj, founder of the ashram, while at Jay Ram Ashram Braham Swaroop Brahamchari gave blessings to a large number of devotees.

The devotees led by Rishiwaranand Maharaj paid tributes to Swami Chetanand Maharaj Chetan Jyoti Ashram. Swami Bageshwaranand Maharaj was also remembered.

Devotees from Haryana, Punjab and Delhi paid obeisance to Satpal Brahamchari at Thana Ram Ashram; Usha Matar at Shri Jai Maa Ashram and to Swami Mahadev Maharaj at Jay Ma Sharnam Mission.

Similarly, at other ashrams like Mata Sachhidanand Kutiya, Shri Salasar Hanuman Mandir, Sapt Rishi Ashram, Nirmohi Digambar Akhada and Nirvani Akhada various programmes and functions were held on the occasion.

Haridwar, July 3
The world-famous Kanwar pilgrimage in Haridwar is set to commence here from tomorrow. A number of saffron-clad Kanwariyas can be seen moving around on Kanwar Patri towards Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, Neel Kanth, Rishikesh, and Gau Mukh, Gangotri.

These are mostly Kanwariyas from Rajasthan, who have arrived a bit early owing to the distance factor as they need at least 12-15 days to cover on foot the distance towards their respective districts in Rajasthan.

With chants of ‘Bam Bam Bholey’, ‘Jai Shiv Shankar’ and ‘Bholey,’ these Kanwariyas are becoming quite an attraction as they are the first lot of the Kanwar pilgrimage colouring the city roads with saffron colour.

The enthusiasm on the faces and voices of these Kanwariyas is quite clear as they try to cover the distance, carrying beautifully decorated Kanwars made of bamboo.

Rajasthani Kanwariyas hailing from Alwar, Amroha, Bharatpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Barmer, Duasa, Hanumangarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jaisalmer etc are moving round the clock to and fro after fetching the holy Ganga jal from the Ganga river.

Talking to TNS, Rahul, a 12-year-old young Kanwar, said that he had for the first time come to the Kanwar pilgrimage along with his relatives and neighborhood elders, and is quite ecstatic to be a part of this pilgrimage, about which he used to see and hear a lot.

Accompanying him is Ram Babu hailing from Alwar, who pointed out that they would take at least two weeks to reach their places. That is the reason they had arrived earlier to make sure they were on time to offer the holy Ganga jal at the respective Shivalayas at temples of Lord Shiva.

Local people are also boosting the morale of these Kanwariyas, who are offered water, shelter and food, and get all praise from the people when they come to know that the pilgrims will tread the whole distance on foot for two weeks.

From tomorrow the Kanwar fair begins officially in Haridwar. A large number of Lord Shiva devotees from other states will also be seen, though from nearby states Kanwariyas will arrive late owing to proximity with Haridwar. The neighbouring states include Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himcahal Pradesh.

Haridwar, July 3
To ensure minimum inconvenience to the locals as well as the smooth traffic movement on the National Highway 58 & 72, the Kanwar administration is focusing on strictly plying Kanwariyas on the specific stretch.

In this regard, special directives are being given to the Kanwar force that is deployed on the Kanwar stretch, the national highway and at specific places like Braham Kund, Har-Ki-Pauri and adjacent ghats.

As traffic will be one way only on both national highways touching Haridwar, police personnel are being given specific directions in this regard to make sure the Kanwar movement doesn't come on highway.

Talking to TNS, Circle Officer Shah Jahan Javed Khan said the traffic plan had already been prepared and to be implemented from July 11 when "panchak" would conclude during which most of the Kanwariyas avoid the pilgrimage.

From July 11-17, when Shravan Mahashivratri falls, the traffic plan will be in place with Dak Kanwars only be allowed to move on the highway while onfoot Kanwariyas will go on via the Kanwar stretch.

At more sensitive points, the Rapid Action Force and the Provincial Armed Constabulary will also be deployed to ensure smooth movement on the Kanwar stretch.

In view of the large number of cases of drowning that took place in the past few years during the Kanwar Mela, apart from regular Jal police personnel, a Bengal Engineer Group life saver squad and a PAC divers squad will be assisted by private divers who will be deployed along various Ganga ghats in Haridwar and Roorkee.

"This is for the first time that help from private divers is being sought keeping in mind the magnitude of the Kanwar fair which is becoming bigger with every passing year. We will be paying these divers too and welcome any other social organisation, a volunteer group or an individual who wants to help the administration in smooth conduct of the Kanwar pilgrimage" said Shah Jahan Khan.

Meanwhile, the Kanwar police force has arrived in the district with their duty commencing from yesterday. All major points on the Kanwar patri, city junctions and important places everywhere Kanwar police personnel can be seen. More than 4,000 state police personnel in addition to paramilitary forces will be providing security in the district apart from managing the Kanwariyas.

According to sources, even after the allotment of office, the chairman did not come regularly to the office as he was not given staff for carrying out day-to-day work. Besides, the office continued to be occupied by previous occupants.

With the intervention of the Chief Secretary, the chairman is expected get regular clerical staff, including personal assistant, in a day or day.

The Uttarakhand BJP had repeatedly questioned the intention of the Bahuguna government as the commission had failed to commence work.

The probe panel will look into various alleged scandals, namely the Citurgia land scandal of Rishikesh, allotment of hydroelectric projects and alleged misappropriation of funds meant for Maha Kumbh 2010 that rocked the previous BJP government of the state. 

Dehradun July 3
SSP Neeru Garg held a meeting with SHOs of various police stations today and, thereafter, managers of various finance companies and banks with regard to complaints of forcible collection of loans from consumers.

The meeting was called in the wake of a case which was lodged in Vasant Vihar police station. In the complaint, the complainant says a person was harassed and beaten up by recovery agents of a finance company.

The SSP took a serious note of the tendency shown by banks and finance institutions in creating terror among their customers for recovering loan.

The SSP also passed directions to SHOs of all police stations in this regard. She said the police stations must receive a list of recovery agents of all banks and financial agencies under their area.

After that, SHOs should also verify the credentials of these agents and enquire further if any of them had criminal background.

The address and contact numbers of recovery agents must be noted. The banks and the finance companies should also undertake the same exercise at their own level. She said the banks and the finance companies would now have to inform the police station before sending their agents for recovery.

She said those recovery agents, who possessed certification from the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, or having the certified letter from the related bank/finance companies, would be considered eligible as recovery agents by the police. She appealed to managers of bank/finance companies to support the city police in this endeavour.

The SSP also held a monthly meeting with Circle Officer and SHOs of all police stations/police post on the Police Line premises today. She stressed on all unsolved cases and work on the prevention of crime. She also suggested a number of measures to efficiently solve the complicated cases.

Meanwhile, in the day, she inspected the traffic scenario in the congested pockets such as Clock Tower, Moti Bazar of the city. She directed the SHO, Kotwali, for better traffic management.