Repair dug up roads, demands councillor
Dehradun, September 2
Councillor Jagdish Dhiman wrote a letter to the Chief Minister referring to the bad condition of roads in Gandhi Gram, West Patel Nagar and Dronepuri. The roads were dug up by an Asian Development Bank (ADB) agency.

Peacock census being delayed
Dehradun, September 2
It may still take some time before the country could know about the exact population of its national bird peacock.

Dehradun, September 2
The Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has failed to formulate a concrete housing plan for Dehradun residents in the past 12 years.

Barring a couple of cases like 35 flats on the Sahastradhara road and its current scheme of 49 flats near the ISBT, which is also progressing at a snail’s pace, the MDDA has failed to provide houses to residents.

The schemes announced by the MDDA are also yet to be implemented. It had proposed to build 700 flats near the ISBT nearly a year ago. However, the scheme is yet to see the light of the day with the MDDA having failed to finalise its design. The process for appointing a consultant is also hanging fire.

In another case, the MDDA had planned to build 40 luxury flats on Pritam Road at Dalanwala. This is where the MDDA office used to exist before it was shifted to Turner Road a year ago. The design for the flats was prepared as well. However, the scheme could not take off as the owner of the land was reportedly demanding Rs 10 crore from the MDDA authorities.

Vice-Chairman of the MDDA RM Sundaram said: “The MDDA had taken the land on Pritam Road on a lease for commercial purpose. However, to convert it into residential purpose, the owner of the land was demanding Rs 10 crore. It was not possible for us to pay this amount. So we shelved the plan.”

The plan of constructing 15 flats for the Economic Weaker Section at Dharampur has also met the same fate. The MDDA had tried to work out some housing plans with the Dehradun Municipal Corporation as well, but that too could not be taken further.

Sundaram said: “The MDDA has an acute shortage of land. We are in the process of preparing a policy for land acquisition. If this policy gets an approval from the state government, we will be able to come up with new housing schemes for the city.”

Just like the MDDA, the state government had also floated a number of departments on the same lines such as the Haridwar Development Authority, the Special Area Development Authority, the Lake Development Authority, Nainital, the Bhagirath River Valley Authority, the Tehri Lake Development Authority and the Gangotri Special Development Authority. However, all of them have proved incompetent in carrying out an effective housing plan under their domain in all these years. There is an acute shortage of houses for the middle-class section in the state.

Although some property that belong to the Uttar Pradesh Avas Vikas Parishad are available and lying unutilised in the state, the government is yet to settle this issue with the UP Government. 

Mussoorie, September 2
Citizens, social activists, politicians and other dignitaries of Mussoorie gathered to pay homage to six martyrs at the Shaheed Sthal near Jhoola Ghar here today. They laid down their lives on September 2,1994, during the movement of separate statehood for Uttarakhand.

Family members of the martyes offered petals and garlands on the portraits of Hansa Dhania, Rai Singh Bangari, Dhanpat Singh, Belmati Chauhan, MM Mamgai and Balbir Singh Negi, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of a separate state of Uttarakhand.

Religious heads recited verses from the Koran, Gurbani and chanted Gayatri Mantra in memory of the martyrs.

Among the state politicians, Preetam Panwar, Urban Development Minister, and Sports Minister Dinesh Agarwal were the first to arrive at Shaheed Sthal. Paying tributes to the martyrs, they said their sacrifice would never be forgotten by the citizens of the state.

Livid at the condition of the Shaheed Sthal that was leaking at most of the places, he directed the Municipal Council officials to begin the repair of the site as it was revered by all. They also directed the officials from the Cultural Department to renovate the whole area and beautify it, befitting to its status. Speaking on the issue of identification of the activists, they said the matter would be discussed at the Cabinet meeting.

Leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhatt, MLA Mussoorie Ganesh Joshi, former Revenue and Food Supply Minister Diwakar Bhatt, former Rajya Andolankari Kalyan Parishad president Ravinder Jugran, former Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, Palika president OP Uniyal, Uttarakhand state activist Shushila Dhyani, Kashi Singh Airi and Trivendar Panwar from the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal along with many others, also visited the sthal to pay homage to the martyrs.

Ajay Bhatt said the people of the state would always be indebted to the sacrifices made by the martyrs during the movement for separate state.

He further said it was indeed unfortunate that the aim, for which the whole movement for separate state was carried out, had not been fulfilled. He also said all political parties had to rise above their political inclinations and work towards the development of the state.

President of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal Trivendar Singh Panwar said it was due to two national parties that the whole idea of forming the separate state had been lost. He also said it was unfortunate Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna could not find time to visit Shaheed Sthal.

He also said the government was not paying any respect to the activists by delaying the identification process, shattering the dreams of the martyrs.

Former Cabinet minister Diwakar Bhatt said a policy needed to be formulated for determining the real activists who participated in the movement. Bhatt speaking on the division of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal said it was really unfortunate and like-minded people should come together and make an effort to form a third front to counter the two national parties.

Later, folk artistes from around the state performed “Swaranjali" a culture event. Kushal Singh Rana, Anil Godiyal, Javed Khan, Vijay Ramola, Sarojini Kaintura Geeta Kumain, Sarojini Kaintura, Maduri Nautiyal, Harbhajan Singh, Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi and others also paid tributes to the martyrs. 

Dehradun, September 2
It may still take some time before the country could know about the exact population of its national bird peacock.

Almost 5 years after the Wildlife Institute of India proposed for a peacock census in the country after successfully undertaking an initial survey exercise, a census is still far away, revealing the peafowl falling low in priority with the Union Environment and Forest Ministry.

In first-ever major exercise, the Wildlife Institute of India had in 2006 and 2007 held an all-India questionnaire based survey on the population of peacocks in the country. The survey was a fallout of the increasing cases of peacock death reported in the country and also the growing need to explore its relationship with humans, particularly with villagers residing in close proximity to its habitat and unlawful trades linked to the charismatic bird.

Significantly, the survey had covered 1720 sites for the presence of peafowl in the country, which included 448 national parks and sanctuaries. This apart from contacting over 300 District Magistrates to tap peacock in other areas so as to ensure that a full-proof estimation on assessment of peacocks was achieved. The survey had then revealed the presence of peacocks as high as 82 per cent in the protected areas while 345 out of 519 districts too admitted its presence in the civil areas under their jurisdiction.

Apart from it, 160 localities that include other forest areas, civil establishments and even institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University and Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi registered the presence of peafowl.

The Wildlife Institute of India that has conducted this survey had then recommended for a full-proof census of peacocks in the country to know of their real population and had even submitted a proposal to the Union Environment and Forestry Ministry. But the proposal is still to see the light of the day.

Wildlife Institute of India's senior scientist Dr S Satyakumar, who was instrumental in earlier estimation exercise for peafowl, told The Tribune that the proposal of the census recommended by the Wildlife Institute of India was still pending with the Union Environment Ministry.

"We need funds to conduct such a mammoth exercise and the Union Environment Ministry seems to have taken up other priorities and has put the peafowl census project on hold for the time being", Satyakumar pointed out.

Dehradun, September 2
The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) today announced the name of Mohit Rawat as its candidate for the post of president in the DAV (PG) College Students' Union elections.

Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhavan here today, president of the state unit of the NSUI Sandeep Kumar said the NSUI was committed to the development of infrastructure on the college campus.

Mohit also pledged to work for the welfare of students in the college.

The Congress government in the state will be completing its first six months but the working of the state government has failed to evoke any faith in the common man.

The Congress as well as the government remains divided giving conflicting signals. According to indications, during the first six months of the Congress government’s rule, it will be tough for Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to manage his own folk

In the past week, ruling Congress legislators came out openly against its own government. Manoj Tewari, Congress legislator from Almora and close associate of Union Minister Harish Rawat, sat on an indefinite dharna at Almora along with other Congress legislators of Kumoan in protest against the inadequate number of doctors in government hospitals.

Interestingly, it was for the first time that the state government had ordered massive reshuffle of the doctors in the entire state and the doctors were in the process of joining their new places of duties.

Interestingly, along with other Congress legislators, state Youth Congress chief Anand Singh Rawat, son of Union Minister Harish Rawat also participated in the dharna. Basically, it showed that Harish Rawat would be unrelenting in putting pressure on the state government, particularly on Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

More interestingly, the dharna by Manoj Tewari came to an end when state Health Minister Surender Singh Negi, himself belonging to the Harish Rawat camp, went to Almora and assured him of early appointment of doctors in the region.

It was not only the Harish Rawat camp, even the legislators considered close to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna have been creating problems for him. The first and foremost remained Kunwar Parnav Singh Champion, Congress legislator from Khanpur in Haridwar district. He has been blowing hot and cold in a bid to extract the maximum from the Chief Minister.

After the Assembly elections, he opened a front against his own government and was made vice-chairman of the state Forest Corporation. But when he was not consulted in the matter of transfers in his own forest corporation, he was furious.

This time, he trained his guns on state Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal and dared him to run a hundred metre race and asked the government to make a sportsman as Sports Minister.

Chief Minister Bahuguna again tried to placate him and Champion equated the Chief Minster as his own father. Kunwar Parnav Singh Champion claimed that the Chief Minister had given him power of work as Forest Minister. This statement also reflected on the working of the state government.

Harish Rawat has already managed to get a few important positions for his legislators, the post of Speaker for Govind Singh Kunjwal and a Rajya Sabha berth for Mahendra Singh Mahra after being denied the top position of the state after the assembly elections. This has infuriated Satpal Maharaj, Lok Sabha MP and his band of legislators.

His loyal legislators have not been given any positions. He recently said all those who had been abusing and threatening the state government had been given positions while those loyal to the state government and the Chief Minister had been ignored. The discontentment has been increasing among loyalists and even party office-bearers.

All eyes on mandi samitis

Apart from the contentious decisions to grant the university status to four colleges of the state, giving government sugar mills on the Pubic Private Partnership (PPP) mode, the Congress government led by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna found itself in a piquant situation on the issue of appointment of chairpersons of mandi samitis in the state.

The elections for these mandi samitis will be held in six-month time but there is a scramble among various ministers and leaders to appoint their own persons as head of these mandi samitis for six months. Harak Singh Rawat, Agriculture Minister, who is not on good terms with the Chief Minister, wanted to have his own say in the matter which was resented by other ministers and legislators. Tourism Minister and legislator from Ramnagar Amrita Rawat, who is also the wife of Satpal Maharaj, Lok Sabha MP from Pauri Garhwal, was unhappy as her choice for Ramnagar Mandi was ignored.

The matter became so serious that the Chief Minister had to put a stop to all appointments. Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat went to the party high command with his grouse. The general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand Birender Singh did try to mediate on the issue but still there was clouds of uncertainity on the final appointments. However, the issue sullied the image of the party and the state government as it showed that the ruling party leaders and ministers are hankering after positions of profit. It is believed that being of the head of mandi samitis is a "profitable" proposition which no ruling party leader wanted to miss even it is for six months till elections.

By SMA Kazmi

Haridwar, September 2
Lightning killed two persons and injured one here today. The incident occurred in the afternoon when heavy rain and thunderstorm lashed the city. Lightning struck Rajaji National Park, 2 km from BHEL, maintenance gate.

Saleem, son of Abdul Hamid, resident of the Bakra market, and Raju, son of Megh Raj, resident of Kadach, died on the spot while Arvind, resident of Ahbab Nagar, got 
seriously injured.

Abbas Ali, who was grazing his cattle, saw three of them lying there.

He informed the Ranipur police and mediapersons. Arvind was immediately taken to a hospital.

In another incident, lightning struck Ambedkar Nagar, Kadach, Jwalapur, which damaged a portion of the Sant Ravi Das temple.

People are demanding compensation for the deceased and the injured. Instant restoration of the portion of the temple building damaged in the incident has also been demanded.

Dehradun, September 2
A delegation of the BJP led by Leader of Opposition Ajay Bhatt submitted a memorandum to Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi here today. It demanded a special session of the state Assembly to discuss the problems faced by the people of the state.

The delegation submitted a letter to the Governor accusing the state government of being responsible for various problems being faced by the people .

The letter mentioned the inadequate support to those hit by natural disasters in Uttarkashi and the indifferent attitude of the government towards the demands and problems of the government employees and labourers.

The letter requests the Governor to call a special session of the Vidhan Sabha to discuss in detail and resolve the various problems being faced by people in the state.

Prem Kumar Aggarwal, MLA, and Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli were part of this delegation.

Dehradun, September 2
Volunteers of Making A Difference (MAD) and students of Doon International School today launched a plantation drive in the surrounding areas of IT Park here.

Planting saplings in Dehradun has always been of the agendas of the MAD volunteers. “The fast depleting greenery of the Dehradun region has been a cause of concern for many people. We have urged the residents to take care of the trees that we have planted.

On our part, we have put tree guards around the planted saplings and have resolved to pay weekly visits. But the cooperation of the residents of this area is vital," said Ashish Malkoti of the MAD, who conducted the drive.

“Tourists come to Dehradun with the impression that they will see greenery and what they get to see is barren land. MAD has resolved to change this scenario," said Mohit Khanduja, a new volunteer of the organisation.

Dehradun, September 2
The Himachal Pradesh Football Association, in association with the ONGC, is organising a one-week Youth Football Festival at Nahan from September 4 to 10.

As many as 23 under-14 youth teams, including Mohun Bagan, Prayag United and Pune FC, from across the country will participate in the seven-day extravaganza. In the first round of the tournament, 17 HP teams will lock horns in a knockout format, of which four will join seven invited teams from other states. The teams will be divided into four groups with one group having three teams. Top teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals.

Association president Sanjeev Katwal will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony. Besides, the HP women's team will play an exhibition match with the women's team of the Tibetan Sports Association.

On the last day, apart from the final match, famous juggler Uttam Das from Kolkata will mesmerise the audience with his stunning antics. MLA Rajeev Bindal will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony.