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BJP campaign lacks spark
Cong offering money to BJP MLAs: Nishank
RPI office-bearers join Cong
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Copter demanded to ferry polling officials
Sanitary workers asked to support Saket Bahuguna
DIG reviews preparations for bypoll
UJP leader joins UPP
Left parties to campaign against BJP, Congress
Sadia Khan appointed CEO of Wakf Board
Civil defence staff hold protests
Rs 2.53 lakh given to Chief Minister’s fund
Banking Ombudsman scheme to solve customer problems: Lokpal
Indian traders suffer due to rise in value of yuan
Marked improvement in college campus environment
NGO to audit development schemes
DGP Pant takes initiative on
blood donation
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BJP campaign lacks spark
Dehradun, September 28 At a time when the UPA government’s recent decision to put a cap on the number of subsidized cylinders and rising inflation and poor track record of the Bahuguna government are expected to work against the Congress candidate in the Tehri parliamentary election, the Uttarakhand BJP has failed to capitalise on it. Party leaders reveal that there is no sincere efforts of the BJP leaders to get things moving for the party that is desperate for a win. “A win here will change the equation. We will be able to wrest at least one parliamentary seat from the Congress but our leaders are seized by personal interests and are not motivated enough for the party. In some places, the BJP party workers are not coming out to work for the party candidate,” said a senior leader. Since the delimitation exercise took place in 2009, the parliamentary constituency profile has dramatically changed, with more assembly segments of Dehradun district falling in the Tehri parliamentary seat. “Which side the voters in the assembly segments comprising Raipur, Rajpur Road (SC), Dehradun Cantt, Mussoorie, Chakrata (ST), Vikasnagar and Sahaspur vote will prove decisive in the battle for Tehri. Going by the 2012 assembly results in these segments, the Congress had an edge. It won four out of the seven assembly seats falling under the Tehri parliamentary seat. The BJP can make a difference here, if it manages to attract Nepali voters. In the remaining assembly segments of Tehri and Uttarkashi, we are hopeful of receiving good response,” said Suresh Joshi, BJP general secretary. Besides, the BJP is awaiting for the last surge and for the national leaders to descend on the election scene in Uttarakhand to perk up the tottering campaign. “As the byelection for the Tehri parliamentary seat will be affected by the national issues, we are hopeful that once our national leaders begin campaigning, they will be able to put issues before the people and strike a chord. The BJP has gone at it hammer and tongs on the Coalgate scam, FDI in retail and a cap on the subsidized cylinders and we will step up pressure in Uttarakhand,” said Joshi. A win in Tehri will change the equation. We will be able to wrest at least one parliamentary seat from the Congress but our leaders are seized by personal interests and are not motivated enough for the party. In some places, the BJP party workers are not coming out to work for the party candidate — A senior BJP leader |
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Cong offering money to BJP MLAs: Nishank
Dehradun, September 28 "The Congress is at its old game of offering the BJP MLAs pecuniary benefits and is misusing official machinery to turn the Tehri bypoll in its favour. It is a high stake game as the future of the Chief Minister's son is at stake," said Pokhriyal. He said the Congress was trying to recreate the Sitarganj conditions in Tehri when money was used to ensure Chief Minister's win. "The situation was fluid and all kinds of offers are there for the BJP MLAs," alleged Nishank at a press conference. Nishank said the people of Uttarakhand would give a befitting reply to the Congress by voting in support of BJP's candidate from the Tehri parliamentary seat Mala Raj Laxmi Shah. Hitting out at the UPA government, Nishank said the economic reforms kicked off by the UPA government at the Centre had hit the common man the hardest and the people of the country were afraid that the UPA may even sell the country one day. "The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand too is following in his footsteps and had almost given the sugar mills on public private mode but it had to retreat its steps after our party staged protests," he said. Meanwhile on the issue of re-entry of Shailender Rawat, former BJP MLA who was expelled by the party in the wake of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri's defeat from the Kotdwar Assembly seat in the 2012 elections, Nishank said he was not aware about the party's decision. However, Shailender Rawat was present at the BJP city office today. Rawat is also a Nishank loyalist. The Congress is offering the BJP MLAs pecuniary benefits and is misusing official machinery to turn the Tehri bypoll in its favour. It is a high stake game as the future of the Chief Minister's son is at stake. —Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Former Chief Minister |
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Dehradun, September 28 State in-charge of the RPI Nepal Singh
Jatia, president Shiv Kumar Pundir, vice-president Ravi Arora and secretary Sandeep Kumar along with their supporters joined the Congress at a function in
Dehradun. They also pledged support to Saket Bahuguna, Congress candidate for the Tehri
byelection. Vijay Saraswat, general secretary of the Uttarakhand Congress, presided over the
proceedings. Saraswat said support for Saket was growing by each passing day. More leaders and workers of other parties were willing to join the Congress, he added. Meanwhile, members of the youth wing of the India National Trade Union Congress led by their president Rahul Sonkar today organised a meeting in Dehradun in support of
Saket. Sonkar asked the youth of Tehri to ensure a landslide victory for Saket. He told the party workers to apprise the people about commendable works of the Vijay Bahuguna government. — TNS |
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Copter demanded to ferry polling officials
Dehradun, September 28 According to the election office, a helicopter will carry five polling officials to Gangotri and eight to Purola in Uttarkashi districts before October 10. "As most of the roads are not in good shape and several routes leading to the polling stations are in a bad condition in many places. The helicopter will ferry the polling party to their destination," said Radha Raturi, Chief Electoral Officer. — TNS
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Sanitary workers asked to support Saket Bahuguna
Mussoorie, September 28 Santosh Gaurav, addressing the media after the meeting with the sanitary workers in Mussoorie, said that the Congress was the only party that had looked after the interests of the community. Therefore, it was imperative to support Saket Bahuguna in the bypoll for the Tehri parliamentary constituency. He said that the sangh was also planning to unite the sanitary workers from the community around their parliamentary constituency and seek votes in favour of the Congress Party. He said that Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had cleared the way for promotion for Scheduled Caste employees in the state. Therefore, it was their duty to support him and the Congress in the hour of need. He said that with the support from the Balmiki community, the victory of Saket Bahuguna was assured from their parliamentary constituency. Billo Balmiki, Mukesh Semwal, Komal Devi, Surendar Pal and others were present on the occasion. |
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DIG reviews preparations for bypoll
Dehradun, September 28 The seat encompasses the Vidhan Sabha constituencies of Chakrata, Vikasnagar, Sahaspur, Raipur, Rajpur Road, Dehradun Cantt and Mussoorie and three in Uttarkashi, Purola, Yamunotri and Gangotri. To ensure the peaceful byelection, the region has been divided into 32 zones and 177 sectors. In total, 1,063 polling stations and 1,482 polling booths have been set up. Of these, 114 polling booths in Dehradun have been declared hyper-sensitive and 134 sensitive while 194 polling booths in Uttarkashi have been declared sensitive. Besides police force, paramilitary forces will be deployed at hyper-sensitive booths.
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Dehradun, September 28 Sharma said his associates of statehood struggle were members of the UPP. He, too, decided to join this party, which was emerging as a potent regional alternative. — TNS |
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Left parties to campaign against BJP, Congress
Dehradun, September 28 They said both the parties were responsible for widespread corruption, blatant plunder of natural resources and ignorance of basic problems of the people of the state. They also lamented about the forcible imposition of election in the time of urgency when many parts of the state were hit by natural calamities. They said they had held statewide dharna on September 10 and met the Governor on September 16 to postpone the election. They pointed out that the eagerness of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to hold the election exposed his insensitivity towards people of the state, who were in pain due to disasters. Both the leaders were of the view that the state government spent first six months of its tenure in furthering the interests of the corporate world. The decision of privatisation of sugar mills and giving important institutions such as education, health, Garhwal Mandal and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam on public private partnership only proved that. Stock market company, India Bull, which was stuck in coal distribution scam, was also being backed in the energy sector in the state, they said, and added that the announcement of Saket
Bahuna, Congress candidate, of assimilating Vikas Nagar in the ambit of Great Doon was only meant to sponsor the interests of those involved in real state. The leaders declared their support to the candidates of other parties who would fight for development of the state. |
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Sadia Khan appointed CEO of Wakf Board
Dehradun, September 28 Khan, who is also Deputy Mukhya Nagar
Adhikari, Dehradun Municipal Corporation, will hold this additional charge. She said, “I am reading the Wakf Act in detail. I have also called a meeting of all the members to understand the issues or controversies related to
UWB.” She said she was intending to give three days of a week to work related to
Wakf. While speaking on her priorities, she said, “It is surprising that the UWB does not have a proper office in town. A two-room rented accommodation and three-member staff at present is grossly inadequate. Hence I would ensure a proper office set-up and appointment of the required staff in the first place.” She is aware about the problem of widespread encroachment over Wakf properties by vested elements throughout the state. “The Wakf properties in the state are worth billions of rupees. Despite that the UWB is in poor condition. It is, therefore, important to conduct a survey to ascertain the number of Wakf properties lying in the state. At present, there is so much confusion as people who have encroached upon Wakf properties are claiming these as theirs. The survey will clear the picture. It can only be done on the direction of the state government,” she added. She indicated appointment of a new chairman of the
UWB. Former chairperson Rao Sharafat Ali was removed on the charges of
corruption. UWB member Razia Begh lamented about the disinterest of the state government in the smooth functioning of the
UWB. She said, “It has been almost a year and the state government has not yet deputed a CEO or chairman of the
UWB. No meeting could took place. Moreover, appointment of one nominated member by the present government of Rao Kale Khan also turned controversial, and was challenged in the High Court.” Another member Mufti Raees said Rao Kale Khan was brought in for being close to BSP MLA Sarvat Kareem
Ansari. He claimed to be member of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-Hind, which was found false. Member
Hafiz-ur-Rahman, however, hoped that things would improve drastically in the UWB with the entry of Sadia Rashid Khan. He said: “Till now, officers of the lower rung had been deputed on the post of CEO. They could never do justice to the post for either being hand-in-glove with a corrupt chairman or locking horns with him.”
The Wakf properties in the state are worth billions of rupees. Despite that the Wakf Board is in a poor condition. It is, therefore, important to conduct a survey to ascertain the number of Wakf properties in the state. At present, there is so much confusion that people who have encroached upon the Wakf properties are claiming their ownership. The survey will clear the picture. It can only be done on the direction of the state government. — Sadia Rashid Khan, Deputy Mukhya Nagar
Adhikari, Dehradun Municipal Corporation |
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Civil defence staff hold protests
Dehradun, September 28 While the Naval Hydrographic Office Workers Union staged a dharna outside the Naval Hydrographic Office on the Rajpur road, the members of the Defence Instrument Employees Union protested outside the Instruments Research Development Establishment (IRDE) office. The protesting employees raised slogans against the Central government alleging that it was promoting privatisation of defence production and related activities of research and development services. They also opposed any possible introduction of foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence production and research. Jagdish Kukreti, president of the Naval Hydrographic Office Workers Union, and Dhyan Singh, general secretary of the Defence Instrument Employees Union, led their respective protests. |
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Rs 2.53 lakh given to Chief Minister’s fund
Dehradun, September 28 The office-bearers included association secretary Om Prakash, joint secretary RC Pathak and treasurer MC Joshi. The Principal of St George’s College, Mussoorie, Brother Christopher Deves also called on Chief Minister Bahuguna at his residence and handed over the cheques for Rs 1 lakh to him for the Chief Minister Relief Fund. |
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Banking Ombudsman scheme to solve customer problems: Lokpal
Dehradun, September 28 Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, Reserve Bank of India's Banking Lokpal Madhavi Sharma today said the RBI’s Banking Ombudsman's office was committed towards proper implementation of Banking Ombudsman scheme in the banks, and asserted that the office was very particular towards sensitising society towards this scheme. She said the scheme was a yeoman service to the aggrieved bank customers, who face various hassles en-course of their day-to-day banking. She held that RBI Banking Ombudsman's Kanpur office was looking at the complaints from Uttarakhand. She disclosed that in the last financial year 2011-12, from Uttarakhand a total of 500 complaints were received by the Kanpur office. Similarly, 403 complaints were received in 2010-11 and 392 complaints were received in 2009-10. She said most of these complaints were redressed. Referring to the nature of complaints, Madhavi Sharma said the complaints were mostly pertaining to pension payments, ATM-linked issues, levying of charges without notice, settlement of claims in death cases and issues linked to loans. Sharma said the RBI was also working towards ensuring general public awareness about the Banking Ombudsman scheme and asserted that even banks had been asked to put up display boards apprising about this scheme. She said filing complaints under the Banking Ombudsman scheme was very easy and can even be filed by just writing a complaint in a postcard and dispatching it to the RBI Banking Ombudsman's office. Deputy General Manager, RBI Banking Ombudsman scheme, Kanpur, D C Hansdah, was also present at the news conference. |
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Indian traders suffer due to rise in value of yuan
Pithoragarh, September 28 According to sources in a Dharchula-based organisation of Indian traders involved in the border trade for the last 20 years, they have to pay to the Tibetan traders Rs 9.5 in exchange for a yuan this year which was about Rs 5 per yuan last year. Due to strengthening of yuan against rupee, the Indian traders, who were expecting profits similar to last year, were now compelled to pay more to the Tibetan traders for goods imported,” said Jeewan Singh Ronkali, a trader. Pramod Kumar, trade officer and SDM of Dharchula, said the Indian traders would not lose much as most of the trade was done on the barter system. “The Indian traders will have to opt for barter trade rather than for currency exchange,” he said. Pramod said the money exchange was done unofficially. The official trade was based on the barter system. Till date the Indian traders had imported goods worth Rs 38.50 lakh only this year while they had sold goods worth Rs 67.93 lakh. The trade began in 1992 after the Indian government decided to improve the economic condition of the tribals of the border area who were dependent on raw material brought from Tibet for their traditional crafts. India opened the trade with China’s help to benefit the tribal people of the district living near the border. Since then the Indian tribals had been importing wool from Tibet for their traditional handicrafts in exchange of daily need goods, Ronkali said. |
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Marked improvement in college campus environment
Haridwar, September 28 At Shravanath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College (SMJN) campus, violence among students, factionalism by student union outfits and regular forcible closing by respective political student wings were traits of the day. But now with strict implementation of Lyngdoh Commission norms, the college has seen drastic change in college results, academic atmosphere, increase in co-curricular activities and respect towards teachers by students. Newly appointed Principal of SMJN College SK Batra, while talking to TNS, said that now the college had started regaining its lost status of a pioneering academic campus as it was in the 60s and 70s. “We have been quite strict on student union election with only meritorious students being elected student union representatives. This makes the election process safer and we have study-oriented representatives elected, while earlier political party-backed students normally won the elections,” said Batra. Citing two consecutive girl students' tenure, Prerna Kainthola and Varsha Dhanik, Batra said that now cooperation and respect among teachers and students had increased with student woes being immediately addressed by the faculty. “All students have been instructed to meet me personally for any problem they have, as speedy redressal is the main objective. Students should concentrate on studies and their problems need to be solved. We are also issuing library books to all the students, holding regular co-curricular activities, weekly debates, discussions and are motivating them to realise their career goal at an early age,” said Batra. A dress code has also been put in place with girls wearing white salwaar kameez and boys in black trousers and white shirts. Earlier, due to no dress code, outsider anti-social elements used to easily mingle in the student crowd, creating hooliganism. To impart moral and practical knowledge to the students, help is being sought from experts with corporate HR executives being called to give the students right information and industry requirement. “We want to give our students a moral-based as well as professional education atmosphere. Eventually, the younger generation is the future of the country. Student union elections in every university and college had damaged the academic environment. But now the students had realised the negative impact of that,” said Batra, while planting a sapling along with students on the college campus. |
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NGO to audit development schemes
Pithoragarh, September 28 “We have selected an NGO through the tendering process to make social audit of all 290 villages in the district where schemes under MGNREGA has been launched,” said JK Tiwari, chief development officer of Champawat. According to the CDO, the audit will be done in an open meeting of gram sabha in which villagers will be able to ask questions on the implementation of the employment scheme, besides other Central Government schemes being run in the village. “We have been doing social audit of various government development schemes for the past many years to maintain the transparency before the villagers,” said Tiwari. The NGO will be given Rs 1,980 per village after the social audit completes, said
Tiwari.
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Students made aware about ethics in business
Dehradun, September 28 The chief guest on the occasion was Dinesh Aggarwal, Uttarakhand Minister of Planning and Sports. Speaking on the occasion, Dinesh Aggarwal stated, “It is very important for students to be aware of what ethics are since these are among the most important things in life to be known for.” He further wished all students good luck for their career ahead. The theme of the talk mainly revolved around corporate ethics and corporate social responsibility and how it is very important for the students to be aware of the same. It is widely accepted phenomenon, which states that an ethical company is more likely to build a good reputation and bring financial rewards over the long term. Sunil Kumar Jain, chairman Tula's Institute, stated, "In this 21st century, everybody wants to reach at the top but somehow don't seem to realize how important it is to be ethical no matter what field you are into. The same applies to an individual's life. I would like to wish the students the best for their future.” Towards the end, executive director Silky Jain disclosed that over the next two days, the institute was going to organize a first of its kind HR conclave which would see top corporate professionals share their experiences with one another. Also present on the occasion was Atulya from Pune who spoke extensively to the students how they could live by their ethics in the challenging business environment.
It is very important for students to be aware of what ethics are since these are among the most important things in life to be known. — Dinesh Aggarwal, Minister of Planning and Sports |
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DGP Pant takes initiative on
blood donation
Dehradun, September 28 He said those who would donate blood would be given Rs 500. They were also required to keep the instructions with regard to time gap for repeated blood donations. He said as per the slogan of the Uttarakhand police, ‘Friendship, Service and Security,’ the state police could donate blood to save precious lives at the time of accidents or other calamities, and also to replenish the paucity of blood in blood banks of hospitals and other institutions. Under this action plan, Superintendent of Police/PAC commandants have been instructed to keep contact with concerned hospitals so that instant response could be given in the time of need. He said the needy institutions or persons could also contact the police headquarters or police force at the district/unit level on toll free number at 18001804111 and 100. He said priority would be given to disaster-stricken people, accident victims and poor people. He said police personnel must know that the myths prevailing with regard to blood donations had been busted long ago and it had been proved that the health of the donor improved after each blood donation. He said the police would be able to augment a sense of brotherhood and belongingness with people with their progressive thinking and initiative of blood donation. |
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Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today accused the Uttarakhand Congress of offering BJP MLAs money even as the model code of conduct was in place in the state.
"The Congress is at its old game of offering the BJP MLAs pecuniary benefits and is misusing official machinery to turn the Tehri bypoll in its
favour.
Reserve Bank of India Banking Ombudsman’s office has been in operation since 1995 with the object of enabling inexpensive, judicious and expeditious resolution of complaints relating to services rendered by banks.
The recommendations of the Lyngdoh Commission as per the directives of the Supreme Court have shown signs of a positive impact. There has been tremendous improvement in the educational environment of colleges.
