Balkrishan’s remand extended
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
A CBI court here today extended the judicial remand of Balkrishan, a close aide of yoga guru Ramdev, by another 14 days in a case of forgery and violation of the Indian Passport Act.

CBI special magistrate Preeto Sharma also extended the judicial remand of Naresh Chandra Dwivedi, a co-accused in the case, by 14 days and fixed August 27 as the next date of hearing, said a CBI counsel. The two were sent back to the Suddhowala jail.

After coming out of the court premises, Balkrishan responded to questions of mediapersons regarding Ramdev’s arrest today. He said, “The tainted Central government will now harass saints. This will not continue for long and will end shortly. The revolution started by Ramdev will expose the UPA government before the public.”

The CBI had registered a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy against Balkrishan on July 23 last year for allegedly procuring a fake degree and violating Section 12 of the Indian Passport Act by furnishing fake documents to get the passport.

Bahuguna takes oath as MLA
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today took oath as a member of the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha here today.

Bahuguna, who won the Sitarganj assembly byelections last month, was administered the oath as a member of the house by state assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal at a ceremony.

He was accompanied by his wife and children and several of his cabinet colleagues. Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Union minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj, state Congress Chief and state Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya, Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani.

Uttarkashi Cloudburst
More relief material sent
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
The state unit of the Akhil Bhartiya Panchayat Parishad today dispatched two trucks of relief for the Uttarkashi cloudburst victims.

Flagging off the trucks at Gandhi Park, Dehradun former Cabinet minister Shoorveer Singh Sajwan called upon the people to come forward in aid of the cloudburst victims. He appreciated the Akhil Bhartiya Panchayat Parishad for showing their concern towards the cloudburst victims.

General secretary of the parishad Lakshmi Aggarwal said the relief had been collected by the parishad from the traders of the Sahaspur, Selaqui and Bhauwala regions of Dehradun. She said the traders had voluntarily come forward to give the relief.

Parishad members Rajesh Walia, Mohan Thapa, Anandi Negi and Suresh Pundir were also present on the occasion.

Governor flags off trucks

Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi today flagged off vehicles carrying relief material and a voluntary team to provide immediate relief to those affected by the recent natural calamity in Uttarkashi.

The relief kits carried in the vehicles consisted of blankets, mats, clothes, food and 18 other items of necessity. The kits have been sent by Graphic Era University. The Governor appreciated the gesture of the university and said it would create unity and compassion in society.

Present on the occasion were Principal Secretary to the Governor Ashok Pai, Graphic Era University's chairperson Kamal Ghansala , Vice-Chancellor Sanjay Jasola, Director Subhash Gupta, students and teachers.

Power generation stopped for 12 hours
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, August 13
Two power houses dependent on the water level in the Sharda river at Tanakpur and Khatima in the Kumaon region remained non-functional due to silt for 12 hours on Sunday. The power channel to the power house at Tanakpur was closed to avoid damage to turbines there due to excessive silt in the river. The power house had resumed generation after the flashing operation, said Rajesh Gupta, assistance manager at the Tanakpur power house of the NHPC.

He said power generation was stopped from 6 am to 7 pm yesterday as the water level in the Sharda river crossed the danger mark and reached one lakh cubic metre per second. It carried heavy silt with it. “We closed the power channel to save our turbine blades as soon as we received information about the water level in the river crossing the danger mark,” he added. The power house was operating at its full capacity and generating 94 MW at present, said Gupta.

The power generation at the Lohiahead house on the Sharda at Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar also remained suspended as the authorities had closed the power channel due to excessive silt in the river yesterday. “As the quantity of silt, sand and mud increased in the river we closed the channel to the Lohiahead power house as well,” said Jagdish Srivastava, a barrage attendant at the Sharda headwork at Banabasa town.

“Though power generation remained suspended for some time, we are now generating 32 MW after the flashing work was done in the river to keep away silt,” Srivastava said.

He said the water level in the Sharda generally remained between 4,000 and 35,000 cusecs during the October-June period, but it crosses the 5 lakh cubic metre per second mark during the monsoon.

Chauhan’s re-entry into BJP may set tone for return of rebels
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
With Munna Singh Chauhan all set to rejoin the BJP in the coming days, the chances of home coming for rebels, who had left the party after they were denied ticket in the last Assembly elections or those who were expelled from the party recently, have again firmed up.

Though former Chief Ministers Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and BC Khanduri have been in favour of Chauhan’s return to the party fold, it now appears that Khanduri is also not averse to the return of the rebels. The BJP had expelled a few leaders for indulging in anti-party activities after they were held responsible for Khanduri’s defeat by the disciplinary committee.

“The move is welcome if the expelled leaders are ready and willing to work for the BJP and the party is also keen to take them back,” said Khanduri while interacting with mediapersons today.

Senior party leaders say the rebels have met central leaders in Delhi, including Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. They told the leaders that the BJP could have achieved the majority in the Assembly had ticket been distributed properly. Kazan Das and GL Shah and former party leader Kedar Singh Fonia had met senior BJP leaders in Delhi recently.

Besides Fonia, Raj Kumar, former MLA from Kedarnath who had left the BJP and fought the 2012 Assembly election as an Independent, GL Shah, former MLA from Pindar, and Shailinder Singh Rawat, former MLA from Kotdwar, are keen to rejoin the party. Rawat was even issued a show cause notice and expelled from the party on the report of the disciplinary committee in the aftermath of Khanduri’s defeat from Kotdwar.

Sources say while Chauhan’s reentry into the party is expected to shore up its prospects in Tehri, if the expelled leaders are taken back questions about discipline in the party will be asked.

Tehri Byelection
Khanduri to weigh pros and cons
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Former Chief Minister BC Khanduri has said he will evaluate all pros and cons before deciding to fight for the Tehri parliamentary seat.

“Though my name was proposed by Bhagat Singh Koshiyari as a probable candidate for the Tehri parliamentary byelection, I have not been approached by the party. So far, there has been no discussion on the issue,” said Khanduri while interacting with mediapersons today.

Khanduri came down heavily on the Congress government for keeping the Transfer Act in abeyance and encouraging nepotism and favouritism in transfers.

“Transfers carried out on the basis of the policy has created unrest among teachers who are unhappy with the way these have been done. The new session has already started but the government is unable to resolve the transfer issue,” he said.

He also blamed the Congress government at the Centre for failing to resolve the issue pertaining to the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill that was passed by the Assembly but requires assent from the President.

Bhagwat meets saints, akhada heads
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 13
Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh supremo Mohan Bhagwat, in his visit to Haridwar, tried to unite saints in order to give directions to the youth of the country.

Bhagwat held joint meeting with met saints and akhada heads in Bharat Mata Mandir, dwelling on various topics related to the RSS and the interests of Hindus.

About 24 leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) were also called on to participate in this meeting.

The RSS national chief said the saint community had to come forward to direct the younger generation.

On the Kashmir issue, Bhagwat said Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of the country and anti-national forces would be allowed to carry out their nefarious designs there.

Former Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Swami Chinmayanand assisted Bhagwat in bringing Akhada chiefs together at one platform.

Meanwhile, Bhagwat retracted from his pro Nitish Kumar statement and Swami Chinmayanand praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, terming him a development-oriented leader.

Swami Chinmayanand said good work should be appreciated which Nitish Kumar was doing in Bihar and Narendra Modi in Gujarat.

Create education-friendly atmosphere in schools, says Bahuguna
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has laid stress on integrated efforts to strengthen the education system in the state. Addressing a national conference organised by the Principal Progressive School Association in Dehradun, Bahuguna said it was the responsibility of teachers to bring about an improvement in the existing education system.

He said the students must get an education-friendly atmosphere in schools and the institutions should ensure excellent student-teacher relationship.

Bahuguna laid stress on bringing quality education within the reach of the poor and said said the Right to Education would usher in revolutionary changes in the education scenario in the country. He asked the proprietors of education institutions to reserve 25 per cent of their seats for the children belonging to economically weaker sections of society.

He said Uttarakhand was becoming an education hub in the country and asserted that the state had been home to some of the well known educationists of the country.

The Chief Minister honoured Dr LP Pandey, Suman Singh, Shanti Verma and Swami Ranjan Das for their contribution to the school education. State Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, Rajpur MLA Rajkumar, Principal Progressive School Association’s president Prem Kashyap and DS Mann were present on the occasion.

SP assures jewellers of prompt action in burglary case
Tribune News Service

Dehradun August 13
A delegation of traders and jewellers from the city, especially from the Majra area where thieves broke into a shop and took away jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh on Saturday night and attempted theft again on Sunday night in the same shop, met Superintendent of Police, Traffic, Ajay Joshi. Joshi assured them of stringent action in this regard.

The way the thieves committed burglary in the same shop for two days consecutively has unnerved the jewellers in the city. Jeweller Sunil Jain said the thieves had no fear of the police anymore. The manner they broke into the same shop after looting jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh showed the extent of lawlessness prevailing in the city.

SP, Traffic, Ajay Joshi assured them that the police was conducting raids at various suspicious locations in the city and would soon nab the accused.

The questions were being raised on the cost of the stolen jewellery. Insiders said the jewellers had exaggerated the cost of stolen jewellery to seek more insurance claims.

Joshi said the police was working on cracking the case. The real cost of the jewellery would be ascertained as and when the case was solved.

It was on Saturday night when the thieves broke into the shop of jeweller Abdul Samad by first smashing the windowpane of adjacent clinic owned by Dr Jay Prakash and thereafter breaking down the adjoining wall.

On Sunday night, they broke the ceiling to enter the same shop. Since there was nothing left, so they could not take away anything.

Unrest in Peyjal Nigam due to transfers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Unrest is brewing in Peyjal Nigam after large-scale transfers in the last week of July, mostly of executive engineers and assistant engineers. The government had recently transferred 225 officials, including 63 executive engineers and 25 assistant engineers. The Diploma Engineers’ Association is opossing the transfers.

In the entire process several engineers who were shifted eight months ago and some others who were expected to retire in the coming months have been moved out.

Sunil Kumar, Director, who was made Director, National Ganga Basin River, just eight months back, has been transferred to Nainital. While GM, Construction Wing (Dehradun), RG Singh, has again been transferred when he has only four months left for retirement.

Similarly, B.C. Garg has been appointed Executive Engineer, Mechanical, whereas he would be retiring on December 31.

Most of these engineers had not applied for transfers as their term retirement was already near, while others who had been transferred just eight months back had not applied for transfer.

Accident insurance scheme for police
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
The accident insurance scheme would no longer be run by insurance companies for the police personnel in the state. The police headquarters has taken over the task. The amount of claim, too, has been significantly increased.

The decision was taken by Director General of Police Vijay Raghav Pant at a meeting of the police welfare review committee on the PHQ premises today, where the accident insurance scheme was also discussed.

It was found that in 2010-11 and 2011-12, a premium of Rs 38 lakh and Rs 43 lakh, respectively, was paid to the insurance company, whereas payment of Rs 31 lakh and Rs 21 lakh to the claims was made by the company in these two respective years. Noticing the loss to the department under this procedure, it was decided to pay the claims through welfare fund of the department directly.

The members also demanded increase in the insurance claims. Hence, the amount paid by the insurance company hitherto in case of casualty from Rs 2,10,000 has been increased by the committee to Rs 2,50,000 and on damage to two limbs in accidents, the increment in insurance claim has been raised from Rs 2,10,000 to Rs 2,40,000.

Citizens' body files PIL on ‘dangerous’ trees
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Citizens For Green Doon (CFGD) today filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Uttarakhand High Court seeking its intervention in the process of declaring trees as “dangerous” by the State Forest Department, alleging the system was arbitrary, unscientific and liable to be easily misused.

Chief Coordinator of CFGD Nitin Pandey argued that a short phrase in the Tree Protection Act, 1976, which says that permission will not be denied if the tree is “dangerous to life or property” has been the cause of felling of thousands of green trees, often for ulterior motives. He said that the phrase was highly subjective and open to varied interpretations as there were no laid down objectives/criterion for assessing the potential of a tree causing damage.

He pointed out that while an objective set of criterion was suggested by the Forest Research Institute, which has 10 points for assessing a tree, the same was not being implemented by the Forest Department for reasons best known to it. The CFGD, he said, had met senior Uttarakhand forest authorities a number of times to draw their attention to the need to rectify the situation, with photographic proofs of healthy trees being cut down after being labelled as “dangerous”, but to no avail.

He disclosed that 3290 trees were axed in 2011 all over Uttarakhand after being declared as “dangerous” and it was CFGD’s estimate that around 40 per cent would have been healthy trees. He said that the group also called for taking digital photographs of such trees before declaring them as dangerous, so that the Divisional Forest Officer could see the tree before actually signing the felling order but the plea had fallen on deaf ears.

It is pertinent to note that after the first monsoon showers this year, over 620 trees in Dehraun were felled as being “dangerous” without assigning any reason or specifying the nature of “danger,” nor any photographic proofs of the same were recorded. Pandey said the plea was against “misuse” of the “dangerous trees” clause by the Forest Department.

Big leap for Indresh Hospital
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Mahant Indresh Hospital has now begun providing surgical treatment for empyema thoracic, a condition in children (0-5 years) in which abscess gets accumulated in the chest and lungs.

Dr Madhukar Maletha, a child specialist successfully treated three-year-old Atul and five-year-old Amit at Mahant Indresh Hospital through therocoscopic method. “Usually children suffering from this condition experience cough and difficulty in breathing. If the condition is diagnosed early, the children recover through a course of antibiotics but if it is delayed the surgeons usually rely on open surgery. This is usually painful and takes long time to recover,” said Dr Maletha.

But surgery through therocoscopic method proves more effective and useful. In this method, decortication is carried through endoscopy. The patient manages to recover early and there is less pain in this method.

Earlier, the patients were forced to either go to Chandigarh or Delhi for treatment.

Bank employees stage protest
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 13
Resenting the Centre’s initiative to introduce the Banking Law Amendment Bill, bank employees in Dehradun, under the aegis of the United Forum of Bank Unions, today staged a demonstration at the zonal office of the State Bank of India.

Led by United Forum of Bank Unions’ state convener BP Mamgain, the protesting bank employees held that the Centre, through Banking Law Amendment Bill, intended to bring in capitalists in the banking sector. He said the government banks today were shouldering the social responsibility and by promoting private banks, the Centre was trying to damage the public banking sector.

The protesters also held that the Centre wanted to close down government banks that were running into losses in rural areas. They said it was not justified.

Addressing the gathering, Mamgain also announced that as part of nationwide stir, the bank employees in the state would also be on a two-day strike on August 22 and 23.

Jagmohan Mehandirutta, VK Joshi, PR Kukreti and VK Kathuria were prominent among the protesters.