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Rs 160-crore project to make Tehri lake world-class adventure centre
Service voters to play crucial role in Tehri byelection
Satyavrat Bansal appointed new state DGP
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Confusion most confounded in UKD (P)
Uttarakhand Sectt Federation passes
five proposals
Kunao villagers on strike since Sept 24
Vinita, Rakesh in race for Principal Secy to CM
Ramdev to file defamation suit against Food Department
Gorkha Democratic Front workers pledge support to Saket
Maha yajna in Haridwar from Oct 25 to ward off evil
Family robbed of cash, gold
Traders, woman killed in mishaps
Separate policy for hill states demanded
Expedite work on Tanakpur to Jauljivi road: Chief Secy
Plan to set up wildlife sanctuaries
in Kumaon division
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Rs 160-crore project to make Tehri lake world-class adventure centre
Haridwar, September 27 It will be on the lake underneath which lies the old Tehri town that got submerged in October 2005. The Uttarakhand Tourism Department has finalised a Rs 160-crore Tehri Lake Project for the purpose. In the offing are scuba diving, boat riding and resorts around the lake akin to the traditional architecture of the erstwhile Tehri dynastic forts. Elaborating on the mega project, Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat told The Tribune in Haridwar that Rs 160 crore had been earmarked for the development of the Tehri lake. On the lines of traditional boats of Kerala, boats will be plied on the lake, besides high speed cruises. Traditional Garhwali cuisine will be offered on the cruises. The tourists will also have a glimpse of the Garhwali culture with artifacts, photos and sculptures of Tehri on display in these cruises. Sweet dishes such as jhangora kheer, arsha or kodha chappati, these will be offered to the tourists on the cruises. “We want the culture of Tehri Garhwal on the platter for domestic and foreign tourists. Surely, the Tehri lake will be a destination not only on the Indian tourism map but also on the global circuit,” said Amrita. Also, scuba diving will be allowed in the lake which will be unique as the divers will be able to see the lost culture of 150-year-old Tehri town, which lies beneath it. “Be it king’s palace, famous Ghanta Ghar, remains of forts, markets or typical hill houses, the scuba divers will get an altogether different experience from the normal scuba diving points elsewhere in the world,” said Amrita, who represents the Ram Nagar Assembly segment. To make the region around the lake eco-friendly, solar panels will be installed. In the pipeline is night safari on the lines of African Night Safari at Ram Nagar-Sita Bali, which will provide round the year source of livelihood to hundreds of local people, tourist guides, hoteliers, tourist taxi operators and resort owners. New trekking routes are being chalked out while existing ones are being provided with basic amenities on a par with numerous trekking routes in neighbouring Nepal. Amrita said while Nepal offered Himalaya darshan, it could be a viable prospect in India too as having an aerial view of Himalayas, Om Parvat and world famous pilgrimages of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri as well as Hemkunt Sahib will be a major attraction for pilgrims and tourists.
Tourism promotion
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Service voters to play crucial role in Tehri byelection
Dehradun, September 27 The service voters comprising serving members of the armed forces and their wives consist of a large chunk of voters who vote through postal ballots and have been played a deciding factor in the victory or loss of a candidate. The number of service voters in Mussoorie (Assembly segment) is 2311, followed by 1922 in Sahaspur Assembly segment, 893 in Dehradun cantt, 832 in Raipur, 490 in Vikasnagar and 425 in Rajpur Road (SC) Assembly segment. Tehri Garhwal district comprises Ghansali (SC), Pratapnagar, Tehri and Dhanolti Assembly segments. For the Tehri bypoll the service voters in Dehradun district comprising Chakarata (ST), Vikasnagar, Shaspur, Raipur, Rajjpur Road (SC), Dehradun Cantt and Mussoorie are expected to play a major role in the fortunes of the candidates. According to the Chief Electoral Office (Dehradun), there are a total of 6993 service voters in Dehradun district, with a maximum of 2443 service voters. Tehri Assembly segment has a maximum of 863 service voters, followed by 642 service voters in Pratapnagar and 603 in Ghansali(SC) Assembly segment. In Uttarkashi the total number of service voters is 2349 with Gangotri having the highest number of voters at 1318 and Yamnotri at 756. Going by the past results of the parliamentary elections, the BJP candidate, TPS Rawat, had managed to win the Pauri parliamentary seat in 2008 by virtue of a large number of service voters. He had then defeated his nearest rival, the Congress candidate and now the incumbent MP from Pauri, Satpal Maharaj. Significantly, in the 2012 Assembly elections, the BJP candidates had an edge over their nearest rivals, the Congress, in the majority of the Assembly segments, and the Uttarakhand BJP is optimistic that the service voters would again prefer the BJP. "We will be keeping an eye on the postal ballots once they began returning duly signed because in the last Assembly elections, these had returned barren," said BS Chuphal, Uttarakhand BJP chief. Along with serving armed forces voters, the police, paramilitary personnel and those on election duties, too, would be voting through the postal ballot. |
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Satyavrat Bansal appointed new state DGP
Dehradun, September 27 Satyavrat Bansal, 59, will get one year to serve as DGP. Luck eluded him twice for the same position in the past. JS Pandey was made DGP on May 29, 2010. Satyavrat's name was also in the reckoning. When Pandey became DGP, Satyavrat Bansal was then promoted from Additional Director General, Law and Order, to Director, Vigilance. He continues to be on that position since then. When his junior Vijay Raghav Pant was made DGP in April this year, Satyavrat's name was at the forefront. But Pant, whom the state government wanted to see as DGP, was chosen for the position. Former DGP Pandey was given an option to lead one- member Police Reform Commission and seek early retirement to make way for Pant. Pant had also served for 13 days as Acting DGP from July 15 to 23 in year 2010. There were speculations with regard to service extension given to Pant but that did not happen. The other names, which were in the race for the DGP's position, were Additional Director General, CID, BS Sidhu, and Additional Director General, Administration, SK Bhagat. Satyavrat became the winner this time on the basis of his seniority. The names of former state DGPs areAshok Kant Sharan, Prem Dutt Raturi, Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya, Subhash Joshi, Vijay Raghav Pant and JS Pandey.
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Confusion most confounded in UKD (P)
Dehradun, September 27 Preetam Singh said there was no need to give inane statements in the media with regard to support withdrawal. “There is no ground for the UKD to withdraw support at this juncture. The party cannot do so until I tender my resignation, and I am not going to do so,” he said, and added that he was not consulted before making such statements in the media. He also confessed on not being consulted by Trivender Singh before deciding to fight the Tehri Lok Sabha byelection. It seems that the party members have not been taken into confidence by Trivender Singh on this issue. Party general secretary Shishpal Singh said it was unfortunate if Trivender Singh gave a statement regarding support/withdrawal around October 10. He said the tussle between party president and party MLA was not good for party's health. The visibly embarrassed Trivender Singh Panwar was seen looking for refuge when asked about the deadline given by him in the media about the withdrawal. He said: “It will not affect the stability of the state government, even if our party withdraws support to it. So we need not to do so. The Congress can push us out on its own.” He said the day the minister, Preetam Singh Panwar, decided to resign, they would withdraw support. His own words reflected that as the minister was not willing to withdraw support, he also had no right to create confusion and embarrassment for the party. Trivender Singh mocked the Congress, saying: “The Congress asked me not to fight the election. Why should I not ? I am not going to dance to their tune.” The muddle in the party has given an opportunity for the other factions to take pot shots at it. President of UKD (J) BD Raturi said: “Trivender Singh Panwar must show some political maturity and ideology. He must consult the sole MLA and minister in the state government before speaking on an important policy issue in the media. What kind of support withdrawal is he talking about when Preetam Singh Panwar, the only MLA, refused to resign? Trivender Singh need not have extended support in the first place and should have let Preetam Singh become a part of the government.” It appears Trivender Singh is charting his own course to axe his own grind without taking his party members or MLA, along on the issue of aligning with the Congress government. |
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Uttarakhand Sectt Federation passes
five proposals
Dehradun, September 27 These include giving voting rights to the newly appointed Assistant Scrutiny Officers and Additional Under Secretaries from the day they submit their membership fees of the Uttarakhand Secretariat Federation. The body also proposed that voting rights be given to 10 officers and employees in Social Welfare Planning Cell; membership and voting rights be given to 8 officers deployed within the Directorate of Planning, and membership and voting rights for members of state estate office. The general meeting was chaired by SS Valdiya, officiating president of the federation. Meanwhile, the members also met the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Dilip Kotia, to hold a discussion regarding their demand for doing away with the ex-cadre posts that had proved a major irritant in the employees striking work earlier. The employees are expected to meet with the Chief Minister on the issue tomorrow. |
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Kunao villagers on strike since Sept 24
Dehradun, September 27 Villagers of Kunao led by Chandra Mohan Singh Negi and Man Singh Payal have been staging indefinite hunger strikes against the Rajaji Park authorities and the district administration since September 24, alleging deprivation of the Forest Rights Act. The agitating villages have rejected the pleas of the Kotdwar district administration officials and also Yamkeshwar MLA Vijay Barathwal to end their stir. They have pledged to continue with their agitation till they get their due rights under the Forest Rights Act. An agitated Chandra Mohan Singh Negi asserted that inhabitants of Kunao village had made their forest rights claims on the basis of Forest Rights Act in implementation in the country since January 2008. “The Kotdwar district authorities after holding the necessary enquires had even recommended certain claims of Kunao villagers to the District Level Forests Rights Committee for acceptance”, Negi disclosed. “But even after passage of more than a year, the Kunao villagers were yet to get their rights as there has been no response so far from the district committee towards their claims,” he added. He said acceptance of rights would have ensured restoration of electricity, drinking water and even road network in Kunao. Surendra Aswal, Alam Singh Rawat and Dhanveer Payal were prominent participants in today’s protest. |
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Vinita, Rakesh in race for Principal Secy to CM
Dehradun, September 27 If the seniority of the officers is taken into account, scales may tilt in favour of Vinita, who is at present the Principal Secretary and Commissioner, Forest and Rural Development. While Vinita belongs to the 79 batch, Rakesh, Principal Secretary, Technical Education, is of the 81 batch. Vinita’s chances have firmed up as Rajeev Gupta of the same batch and one-day senior to her has been on deputation to the Central government since 2011 and may not be relieved any time soon. Besides, she will be the first woman officer to be posted as Principal Secretary to Chief Minister in Uttarakhand. However, sources claim that Rakesh is also keen to occupy the slot and may be picked up for his ability to deliver. “While it is the prerogative of the Chief Minister to pick and choose his bureaucrats, Rakesh could be considered for his singular ability to get things done,” said a senior bureaucrat. Meanwhile, there are rumours that Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has approached the Centre for extension to Dilip Kotia, but failed to get approval. “In order to use the services of Principal Secretary Dilip Kotia, who is retiring on September 30, the Chief Minister may appoint him as his chief adviser. This way his experience will come handy for the government,” he said. Kotia was the chief negotiator to break the impasse between the striking anti-reservation employees and the government. |
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Ramdev to file defamation suit against Food Department
Haridwar, September 27 Swami Ramdev said the report on six samples taken from the products made at Divya Yog Mandir factory was misleading and a conspiracy to defame him. Pointing it a move under the directions of the Congress government at the Centre, Swami Ramdev claimed that his products followed international standards. He said the time given to all firms to follow new branding guidelines was February 2013 but the Food Department, knowing well that the deadline was still five months away, levelled charges against the products. “The Congress is pressuring me and Acharya Balkrishan as we have been raising the issue of black money and the flaws of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government", he said. From today, more than 2,000 volunteers of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust would go door to door in Haridwar district to expose the double standards of the Congress government. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh keeps mum on various scams of its Cabinet Ministers and the Food Department fails to take action against MNCs but it has time to pressurise us,” said Ramdev. Meanwhile, two private testing laboratories have distanced themselves from conducting laboratory tests of product samples of Patanjali Ayurvedic. NBL Laboratory and TUV SOD Laboratory, New Delhi, have refused to test the samples of Patanjali Ayurved products sent by the Food Department. District Food Officer RS Rawat said these labs were selected by Patanjali quality controller Avinash Kumar. Now, he still has another option of conducting the tests from Pune Central laboratory. Avinash Kumar claimed that the high global standards were adhered to while manufacturing the products of Patanjali Ayurveda. |
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Gorkha Democratic Front workers pledge support to Saket
Dehradun, September 27 Gorkha Democratic Front workers led by their leaders Puja Subba, Vishal Thapa and Raman Alay joined the Congress at a programme held in Dehradun today. Addressing the gathering, Puja Subba also appealed to the Gorkha community members to vote and support Congress candidate Saket Bahuguna. Welcoming them into the party fold, Uttarakhand Congress general secretary Vijay Saraswat today said support for Saket Bahuguna was growing every day and asserted that Congress will win Tehri parliamentary bypoll by a huge margin. Arun Chamoli, Pankaj Chetri and other Congress leaders were present on the occasion.
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Maha yajna in Haridwar from Oct 25 to ward off evil
Haridwar, September 27 During the course of the yajna, offerings will be made to various gods and goddesses. Rituals will also be performed. Saints and devotees will be arriving from different corners of the country. Being organised by Bharat Mata Temple founder and revered spiritual guru, ex-Shankaracharya Maha Mandaleshwar Swami Satya Mitranand Giri Maharaj, the maha yagna will continue for four days. To be held at the adjacent open ground of Bharat Mata Mandir,1008 saints will be sitting on the kunds with a number of devotees to pray to Lord Ganesha, which is known to ward away all evils, disasters, problems and bad omens. Swami Satyamitranand Maharaj said that Lord Ganesha was the first deity to be prayed. They decided to organise a yagna to remove the woes of the people who are affected by natural disasters, calamities, violence and terrorism. The yajna will commence on October 25 with joint rendition of 1,25,000 Hanuman Chalisa shlokas. Religious flag hoisting of the yajna will be done by Shantikunj founder Pranav Pandya. “We want to pray for peace and wellness of the people of India and world to Lord Ganesha via this maha yajna being organised for the first time in the holy land of Uttarakhand,” said Swami Satyamitranand. In view of this grand yagna, Swami Satyamitranand, along with administrative officials, today visited the site where construction is already in progress for the mega religious event. Yajna shalas, tents, levelling and cleaning work was inspected by Bharat Mata Mandir trustees with administrative officials. |
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Family robbed of cash, gold
Dehradun , September 27 According to the police, the robbers gained access into the house of Jai Kumar Dhiman and Amit Dhiman, both brothers. Jai Kumar, who works as an engineer at a cement factory in Srinagar, Garhwal, was away whereas his younger brother stationed at Roorkee was also on his job. Preliminary investigation revealed that five youths, aged between 25 and 30 years, approached the family members asking for Jai Singh and on learning about his absence, they asked Jai Kumar’s wife, Kusum, for water. Taking the opportunity, they entered the house and took Ashish, Tulsi and Tanishq, the three children of the house, as hostages. They threatened to kill the children and took the keys and decamped with jewellery and cash. According to the family members, the robbers took away cash worth Rs 1 lakh and jewellery worth lakhs. A case has been registered.
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Traders, woman killed in mishaps
Pithoragarh, September 27 According to the Almora police, Harendra Singh
Bisht, a furniture trader of the town, and his wife were killed while their 18-month-old son was injured seriously when their car plunged into the Kosi river, near
Suyalbari, when they were travelling to Pithoragarh from Almora. “When we pulled out the car from the river, the couple had already died. However, the child was seriously injured and had been referred to a higher medical
centre,” said Bipin Pandey, in-charge of a police post at Kharna, near Almora. In another incident, Sanjay
Mahar, a transporter and resident of Kumaur village, near the town, was drowned in the Saryu while taking a bath. His body was recovered from the Banbasa barrage after three days , said the police. Markets in the town and private taxi services were closed today as Mahar was also the president of the Devbhumi Taxi Union in Pithoragarh district. — OC
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Separate policy for hill states demanded
Dehradun, September 27 Participating in a discussion on 'Himalaya Jan Niti, Jan Samvad,' organised by Raksha Sutar, Kumar said that the Himalayas can no longer bear the unregulated exploitation of it's resources. "Every year there are reports of natural calamities striking the state. How long would the people suffer? Instead of ameliorating the sufferings of the people living in the hills, we have been compounding their miseries due to our greed," said Kumar. BP Maithani, environmentalist and head of the committee that prepared the draft of Lok Niti, said that the voice of the Himalayan states is never heard due to their small participation in Parliament. That is why the policies that are drafted never take into consideration the requirements of these states. "We travelled in different Himalayan states to elicit the views of the people so that a comprehensive Himalayan Lok Niti could be prepared, and now hope that the Centre would wake up to our needs," said Maithani. Calling for a comprehensive representation of the views of the people of the Himalayan states while drafting policies, environmentalist Biju Negi said that policies prepared in five-star hotels cannot gauge the requirements of the people living in the villages. Suresh Bhai of Raksha Sutar expressed concern at the dwindling returns for small farmers from agriculture. "To top it, erratic monsoon, natural disasters and insensitive nature of the administration have pushed the farmers to penury,” he said. Journalist Islam Hussain from Haldwani said that the small farmers have to be economically strengthened; all the people living in the hills should be compulsorily insured against natural disasters. |
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Expedite work on Tanakpur to Jauljivi road: Chief Secy
Dehradun, September 27 He was reviewing the construction work at a meeting here yesterday. The construction of this 133-km road would shorten the distance between Champawat and Pithoragarh. At present, one has to cover 225 km to reach Jouljivi from Tanakpur. Jain directed the officials concerned to set time frame for the construction work. He was informed that the detailed project report (DPR) of the 74-km Tanakpur-Pancheswar road was prepared and construction would begin after completing all formalities in October. By that time, the DPR of 59.3-km Pancheswar-Jouljivi road would be ready. Besides, 12-km long Tanakpur-Thuligarh road was to be widened for which transfer process of forest land would be initiated by the end of September. The Chief Secretary laid emphasis on expediting the construction works. The road would connect 24 outposts of the ITBP and several villages falling on the route. Secretary, PWD, S Raju, Staff Officer to the Chief Minister MC Joshi and other senior officers attended the meeting. |
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Plan to set up wildlife sanctuaries
in Kumaon division
Dehradun, September 27 A decision to this effect was taken at State Wildlife Advisory Board technical committee held in Dehradun today. Significantly, Union Environment and Forest Ministry has been urging Uttarakhand for quite some time towards facilitating setting up of wildlife sanctuaries in Nandhaur and Pawalgarh of the state. Uttarakhand wildlife authorities seem to be in consent with the ministry’s wishes. The meeting also decided to send experts to Corbett Tiger Reserve for demarcating the buffer zones inside the reserve. Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden SS Sharma, however, held that any effort towards establishing wildlife sanctuaries in Nandhaur and Pawalgarh would require in-depth study of the region and today’s decision was step in that direction. Apart from wildlife officials of Uttarakhand Forest Department, experts from Wildlife Institute of India and WWF India participated in the meeting. |
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Haridwar, September 27
