Alleged swindler arrested
Dehradun, September 20
The police today arrested Dharampal, an alleged thug, for conning people by offering them good jobs. Till date, he admitted to having made Rs 25 lakh by cheating people. He fooled people by posing as an auditor. He is under arrest though his wife has assured that she would return the money by tomorrow.

Tigers find an eden in Corbett reserve
Dehradun, September 20
The tiger population in the Corbett Tiger Reserve continues to thrive and now stands between minimum and maximum limits of 143 and 198 respectively.

9 more vehicles for Khushiyon ki Swari 
Dehradun, September 20
The Health Department has given approval for procuring nine more vehicles that will become part of the Khushiyon ki Swari programme. The vans on call are being used as an incentive for women to undergo deliveries at government hospitals.

Signature campaign for eco conservation
Dehradun, September 20
The Agaaj Foundation, an NGO working for environment conservation, has started a signature campaign to conserve biodiversity of far-flung districts of Uttarakhand. The Agaaj plans to send these signatures to the "11th Conference of Parties (CoP) on Convention on Biological Diversity" to be held in Hyderabad in October.

Former UKD chief meets Governor
Dehradun, September 20
Former president of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) Kashi Singh Aery called on Governor Aziz Qureshi today and drew his attention towards the irregularities in appointments by the Uttarakhand Open University and Pithoragarh Engineering College.

Dehradun, September 20
It has been more than 15 years since patta land holders (landless persons) have been occupying 36 hectares of land related to the Irrigation Department worth several crores of rupees throughout the state. The lease period has neither been renewed in all these years, nor has the land been taken away from the patta holders.

According to sources, the lease period came to an end when the state was carved out. In the undivided Uttar Pardesh, the state government had then kept the matter of either cancellation or renewal of lease on this land 'under consideration,' and had also prevented any punitive action till any decision was taken on it. But it has been 11 years since the formation of the state, and the successive state governments have not felt the need to take into account this situation, which involved an expensive 36 hectares of land.

Besides that the state government is also losing out on revenue worth crores on an annual basis.

For the last 15 years at least, the successive governments have already lost maximum amount of revenue and, in today's time, where the cost of land is huge, the quantum of loss is understandable.

Besides the lease land, there are 1811.534 hectares of land which had been encroached upon through illegal means. Even this issue has been hanging fire for all these years.

The Irrigation Department is sleeping through it as well.

The land (in hectares) of the Irrigation Department, which is under the control of patta holders despite the end of the lease period, is 0.1468 in Dehradun, 0.401 in Nainital, 22.8740 in Udham Singh Nagar, .0363 in Pauri Garhwal and 12.904 in Haridwar.As per sources, the matter was taken before the Secretary,

Irrigation Department, some two months ago, who had then assured to examine the issue. But nothing was done about it.

There are certain limitations linked to the lease land. No permanent construction could take place over it. The land could not be sold to a third party, and it could also not be encroached upon by anybody. People have made houses over the lease land without giving a penny to the state government. They are flouting the rules openly.

On the one hand, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) officials complain  about the paucity of government land in the city to bring about new housing colonies or complexes.

On the other hand, the precious land of the Irrigation Department is lying useless under the clutches of patta holders or encroachers.

Mussoorie, September 20
With the election fever picking up in the Tehri parliamentary constituency, the spouses of both BJP and Congress candidates today visited the town to seek votes in favour of their candidates.

First to reach Mussoorie was the wife of the Congress candidate from Tehri Gauri Bahuguna who was welcomed by the local unit of the party at Kingcraig.

She also went to Shaheed Sthal at Jhoola Ghar and offered floral tribute to the martyrs during the police firing of September 2 in Mussoorie. She also visited Congress Bhavan where she was introduced to party workers by the local leaders.

Addressing a gathering, Gauri Bahuguna said if her husband Saket Bahuguna was elected by people from the Tehri parliamentary constituency, then the main focus would be on the development of the area.Later speaking to mediapersons on the issue of price rise and the allegation of corruption, especially the coal scam and its effects on the poll, she said the Opposition was raking up the issue to gain political mileage. Speaking on the diesel price hike, she said it depended on the international market in which government had little say and moreover the Congress government had increased the quota from six to nine cylinders. She also visited the Radhakrishan temple in Picture Palace where she met the devotees too.

She also said the people of Tehri were interested in electing a servant not a king in the coming elections.However, the visit of Gauri was marred by the opposition by some members from the Youth Congress, who refused to enter Congress Bhavan and preferred to raise slogans in favour of Saket Bahuguna from outside the bhavan.

Speaking to the media, the Youth Congress leader Megh Singh Kandari said the youth were with Saket and there was no difference in the Congress but the youth would work for the party by staying away from the Congress organisation present in Mussoorie.

At other meeting organised by BJP Thauldhar Vikas Samiti at the Lakshminarain temple today, Maharaja Manujendar Shah, husband of BJP candidate Mala Raj Lakshmi from Tehri, met party workers and appealed to them not to be deterred by the money and muscle power of the state government as the sentiments of the people were against the Congress due to the unprecedented charges of corruption against it at the Centre.

He said the people of Tehri, by voting in favour of the BJP candidate, were ready to give a message to the country that the days of the Congress were numbered at the Centre.

Shah further said the region of Pratap Nagar in Tehri had turned into an island and had been isolated after the formation of the Tehri dam. He was sure that if his wife was elected, she would raise such issues in Parliament. Taking a dig at the slogan raised by the Congress stating Saket Bahuguna as servant and Mala Raj Lakshmi as a candidate from the royal background, he said it was indeed unfortunate that while the servants were using helicopter for elections, his wife was meeting the voters on foot in the constituency. The people could themselves asses the difference between the two. With these meetings, the political environment of the town has heated up. It remains to be seen whether the recent hike in diesel price and capping of the LPG connections will have any bearing on the election result in near future.

Dehradun, September 20
The police today arrested Dharampal, an alleged thug, for conning people by offering them good jobs. Till date, he admitted to having made Rs 25 lakh by cheating people. He fooled people by posing as an auditor. He is under arrest though his wife has assured that she would return the money by tomorrow.

CK Uniyal, uncle of two boys of Delhi who had been cheated by the culprit, caught him in his house in the middle of the night.

Uniyal, who came from Saharnpur, took the person, in an inebriated

condition, to his relative's place, got him to sign an affidavit today morning in the district courts regarding his cheating ways and later handed him over to the Kotwali police. From here the suspect was sent to the cantonment police station.

Dharampal had been cheating people for a long time. He has already spent the swindled money. He was planning to get married to a gypsy girl, who was staying with him, whereas his wife stayed in a flat near Mahesh Indresh Hospital. His wife, who had no clue of his cheating ways, comforted the complainant that she would return the money by tomorrow. She had called her close relative today.

Uniyal said his nephew, who belonged to Uttarakhand, worked in Delhi. They wanted a job in Dehradun. They came in contact with

Dharampal, who took Rs 3 lakh from them two years ago for providing them with jobs. But he neither arranged for jobs nor returned the money to them. The culprit had been changing his location and his contact number quite frequently, which made it difficult to nab him.—TNS

Dehradun, September 20
The tiger population in the Corbett Tiger Reserve continues to thrive and now stands between minimum and maximum limits of 143 and 198 respectively.

The Wildlife Institute of India has stressed on accommodating the spillover of the tiger number in territorial forest divisions of the reserve through habitat strengthening and securing of linkage corridors.

A research paper on the population status and space use by tigers in the reserve presented at the annual research seminar of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, yesterday revealed an estimated population of tigers between 143 and 198.

The estimation was done in 2011-12 through cameras put across 229 locations during 7,158 trap nights, thus yielding 1,511 photographs.

For the estimation of the tiger population, 931 sq km in the reserve was taken up.

One of the principal investigators of the project Qamar Qureshi said since the start of the estimation work in the Corbett reserve in 2006, tigers have continued to thrive there with the highest density among the tiger range countries across the globe.

He said the limits of 143 and 198 has amply proved that the population of the animal in the reserve had remained constant.

Qureshi, an acclaimed tiger scientist, said with Corbett having a large population of tigers, it was now all the more important to better the habitat of territorial forest areas of the reserve and also the Rajaji National Park.

There was also a need to strengthen linking corridors to ensure that the spillover tiger population from Corbett got accommodated.

Qureshi expressed fears that failure to develop more adequate space for tigers could lead to increase in tiger deaths. "It is the pride of Uttarakhand that such a high density tiger population is thriving in Corbett. This is quite contrary to other parts of the country. Thus, the state needs to increase the tiger population in other areas as well," he added.

tiger census

* Population between minimum and maximum limits of 143 and 198.
* Done in 2011-12
* Cameras put across 229 locations during 7,158 trap nights yielded 1,511 photos
* 931 sq km looked at

Dehradun, September 20
The Health Department has given approval for procuring nine more vehicles that will become part of the Khushiyon ki Swari programme. The vans on call are being used as an incentive for women to undergo deliveries at government hospitals.

As of now, the GVK EMRI emergency ambulance service is operating these vans and last year alone 30,000 mothers and children benefited under the programme.

“As of now, we are operating 101 vans that carry pregnant women to government hospitals free of cost for delivery, and then also bring them back home with the child. The new vans will help us cover more areas in the state. The programme has helped in institutionalising deliveries. Earlier, due to lack of awareness and absence of vehicles, women were forced to deliver at home, which is always a risky affair. This had led to child and maternal mortality rate shooting up,” said Manish Tinku, state head of the GVK EMRI 108 ambulance service.

Last year, 30,000 cases were attended to under the programme and 150-160 cases were attended to on an average in a day. The programme had earmarked 183 government hospitals where expectant mothers were taken for delivery in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions. The programme was started last year. The GVK EMRI also runs the 108 emergency ambulance service in the state.

Dehradun, September 20
In the All-India Girls' Basketball Championship for under-14 being played here, a total of four matches were played today. In the first match, Pinegrove School, Solan, beat Daly College, Indore 17-07. Similarly, Mayo College Girls' School, Ajmer, beat Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, Pilani 42-02.

Further, Modern school, Barakhambha, beat Daly College, Indore, 26-08, and Welham Girls' School beat Mayo College Girls' School, Ajmer 26-12. Meanwhile,host Welham girls, Dehradun, beat Birla Balika Vidhyapeeth, Pilani 52-24 yesterday.

Further, Pinegrove School, Solan, beat Mordern School, Barakhambha Road, New Delhi, 27-25 in a closely contested match.

In the third match, Mayo College Girls School, Ajmer, beat YPS Mohali 18-14.

Dehradun, September 20
Garhwal Sporting and Bajrang Dal today emerged winners in their respective matches in the District Dehradun Football League being played at Rangers Ground here. In the first match, Garhwal Sporting defeated Cantt Blue 1-0. Harsh scored the sole goal for Garhwal Sporting in the 55th minute of the match.

In the second match, Bajrang Club beat Exodus Club 2-1. Rahul scored the first goal for Bajrang Club in the 22nd minute. But Ajay brought the equaliser for Exodus in the 68th minute. However, shortly, thereafter, Sandeep scored the second goal for Bajrang Club, thereby ensuring Bajrang Club's victory over Exodus with a score of 2-1.

Tomorrow , Doon FC will take on 3/1 Gorkha Rifles whereas Doon Eagles will clash with Indira Club.

Haridwar, September 20
Shantikunj Gayatri Vidyapeeth, educational wing of the Shantikunj Gayatri Parivar, won the block level kho-kho championship held at Jwalapur Intermediate College here today.

A junior-level girls’ kho kho match in progress in Haridwar on Thursday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Shantikunj Gayatri Vidyapeeth showed its prowess in both boys senior and girls senior category by winning both titles.

A total of 15 teams participated in the championship.

Now the winning Shantikunj Gayatri Vidyapeeth teams have qualified for the district level kho-kho championship that begins from tomorrow at Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Haridwar.

Shantikunj head Dr Pranav Pandey has expressed happiness over the school teams' performance.

He added that though the school being a new one, yet students were performing well in academics, sports and co-curricular activities. He attributed it to the moral education being imparted in the school.

Meanwhile, the district badminton championship will be held from September 23 at Dr Hari Ram Arya Intermediate College in Mayapur.

Earlier, it was scheduled for the next month on October 4 but due to change in the state-level championship, the date has been changed.