Govt may announce Assembly house at Gairsain
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 2
In order to achieve political dividends from its decision to hold the first-ever Cabinet meeting tomorrow, the Uttarakhand Government is likely to announce the construction of Vidhan Sabha bhawan (Assembly house) at Gairsain in Chamoli district.

The government already has at its disposal a fund of Rs 88 crore sanctioned under the 13th Finance Commission which was not utilised by the BJP government.

The then BJP government had all plans to utilise the fund for constructing the new Vidhan Sabha bhawan in Dehradun.

For selection of a suitable site, the previous BJP government too constituted a committee but nothing came out of it.

With the change in the government and the Congress government making its intention to hold the Cabinet meeting in Gairsain, the Congress is keen to capitalise on the issue, though it is still far from making Gairsain as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.

As Dehradun was declared the interim capital, temporary arrangement was made for housing the Assembly at Defence Colony.

But with sources claiming that after holding the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Bahuguna would now like to move a step further and give partial legitimacy to the idea of Gairsain as the capital of Uttarakhand by holding the Assembly sessions in the coming days.

"This is the only way the Congress government can milk the issue of Gairsain without actually declaring it as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand. Though there are suggestions that the government should declare it as the summer capital of the state, the poor infrastructure and bureaucrats resistance will always come in the way. So the party's interest will be served better by at least laying the foundation stone and finally constructing the Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain tomorrow," said a senior political leader.

On the other hand, the BJP has termed the Congress government's decision to hold the Cabinet meeting at Gairsain as a political stunt.

"The Congress government is playing with the emotions of the people and is not serious on the issue of Gairsain", said Ajay Bhatt, leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly.

With the government machinery already on its way to Gairsain, tomorrow's Cabinet meeting may well change the fortune of this remote town that lost to Dehradun in the Dikshit Commission report.

Five docs on duty

A team of five doctors comprising a surgeon and a pathologist from Doon Hospital and District Women’s Hospital will also be providing services at Gairsain tomorrow.

The doctors comprising Dr Harish Basera, Dr RC Rawat, Dr Jyoti Bora, Dr N. K Mishra (pathologist), Dr Nidhi Rawat have been relieved in advance to give duties at Gairsain. 

 Lipulekh Pass closes for border trade with China
Indian traders import goods worth Rs 2.78 crore
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, November 2
Indian traders have imported goods worth Rs 2.78 crore from Tibet and exported items worth Rs 81.15 lakh to Tibetan traders during the five months of the Indo-China border trade this year.

The trade that was conducted through the 16,500 feet Lipulekh Pass in the district concluded on October 31 after the pass was closed, sources in the trade office at Dharchula and the ITBP at Didihat said yesterday.

“We have now closed Lipulekh Pass and it will open on May 1 next year for the Kailash Mansarowar pilgrimage and the border trade,” said Kedar Singh Rawat, ITBP Commandant at the Didihat camp.

According to the ITBP sources, of the 138 India traders who had gone to Tibet to take part in the trade, 104 had returned till last evening before Lipulekh Pass was closed. “The rest of the Indian traders will have to return via Nepal.

The border trade was resumed in 1992 to promote the tribal economy of the Bhotia community living in this part of the Himalayas that had been dependent on it for many centuries. It was discontinued after the war with China in 1962. It is conducted through Lipulekh Pass every year.”

“The Indian traders have imported mainly Tibetan and Pashmina wool, Yak butter, Tibetan goats and sheep, while they have exported sugar candy, coffee, tobacco and woollen clothes,” said Pramod Kumar, Trade Officer at Dharchula.

Pramod said the Indian traders had gone to the Taklakot mart in Tibet for the trade.

No Chinese trader came to the Indian mart of Gunji, as the basic facilities were not available there. “To attract Chinese traders to the Gunji mart, more facilities are needed to be created there. While the Chinese mart at Taklakot has fine roads and housing facilities, the Indian mart lacks all these,” said Padam Singh Raipa, president of the Bharat Cheen Vyapar Samiti. 

 Cleanliness Campaign in Haridwar, Rishikesh
Dera Sacha Sauda drive draws appreciation
Sandeep Rawat/TNS

Haridwar, November 2
Appreciation is pouring in from all sections of society for the massive cleanliness drive started by two lakh devotees of the Dera Sacha Sauda who almost cleaned the twin cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh yesterday.

Without any government agency or municipal civic body's help, the drive started by the volunteers of the Dera Sacha Sauda has left an indelible impression on the local people and tourists.

Swami Gang Das of the Jugat Ram Mission said these volunteers had shown that nothing was impossible if people carried on any good work with sincerity, devotion and determination. The saint, who has been involved in several social projects like ban on tobacco consumption and prohibition of animal sacrifice, said without funds and civic body resources, the Dera Sacha Sauda volunteers did a remarkable effort and the people of Haridwar along with the pilgrims and tourists should sustain it further.

"This unique effort can be stated as 'Cleanliness Kumbh' and the deity Ganga will be happy that with such a concerted effort and devotion, the Dera Sacha Sauda devotees carried out such a massive drive in the twin cities in a single day, added Jugat Ram.

Umesh Dimri, a corporate executive, said the Dera Sacha Sauda volunteers have shown mirror to the civic body, the state government, the Central Government and local citizens who keep on shifting blame on one other when it came to cleaning the city or the Ganga.

While Meenakshi Bhatt, a student, said "Today she cleaned her residence on her own then my family members also joined me. We should lead by example, then only we can expect others to follow."

Demanding explanation from the government over more than Rs 20,000 crore spent on the Ganga Action Plan and the Ganga cleaning drive, Payal Bisht, social activist, said its high time respective governments, departments, NGOs and saints should take a lesson from the Dera Sacha Sauda volunteers.

Teerth Raksha Maryada Samiti members also took out a cleanliness drive at Alaknanda ghat after being inspired by the Dera Sachda Sauda cleanliness drive.

Sanjay Chopra, conveyner of the samiti , said a lesson needed to be taken out of the dedication of these volunteers and it's now up to the residents to take forward their mission.

Surprisingly, a majority of colonies, Ganga ghats, road sides and offices were found clean today with people being seen themselves putting garbage at disposal spots,.

 Speaker for Gairsain as summer capital
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 2
State Assembly Speaker Gobind Singh Kunjwal today depicted the apathy of hill people and demanded summer capital status for Gairsain in Chamoli district.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of an exhibition at Roshanabad, Kunjwal lamented that since the creation of Uttarakhand, the state governments had failed to cater to the hill regions of the state.

He pointed out that due to lack of development in hill districts, migration had emerged as a boiling issue for the state and mass exodus of families from hills to plain regions was a reflection it.

“This is a serious matter which the state government should take up with sincerity and earnest. For hill regions, a specific development policy needs to be initiated so that we can prevent migration,” said Kunjwal.

Adding further, the Speaker stated that unemployment and migration had reached an alarming level in Pauri, Tehri, Champawat, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh and Almora districts.

He cited the dreams of statehood agitators who gave their life for the creation of Uttarakhand.

“When not in a span of 12 years, then how do we expect Gairain to be the summer capital of state in near future. Development and basic facilities have taken a back seat in the hill districts,” he stated.

He welcomed the initiative of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna of calling a Cabinet meeting at Gairsain on Saturday.

 Mahant Rajendra Das ashes immersed in Ganga
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 2
The ashes of Mahant Rajendra Das of the Bada Akhada Udasin were immersed in the Ganga here today. Members of Mahant Rajendra Das's family and a large number of saints and devotees were present on the occasion.

Paying tributes to him, Speaker of the state Assembly Gobind Singh Kunjwal said Mahant Rajendra Das had a special talent, who always tried to unite saints in one unit.

Mahant Maheshwar Das said the void left by his death could not be filled and he would always be remembered by society and the akhada.

Head of the New Akhada Parishad Mahant Balwant Singh said Mahant Rajendra Das always tried to accomplish a given task which was a lesson for all of us.

Mahant Raghumuni, Mahant Santosh Muni, Swami Devanand and Swami Pranavanan also paid floral tributes to the saint.

 'Cong will win majority seats in HP’
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, November 2
The Congress would get a majority seats in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, said spokesperson for the state unit of the party Mathura Dutt Joshi here today.

Joshi, who along with other party workers had gone to Himachal Pradesh for campaigning, said: "The three Assembly constituencies of Silai, Ponta and Nahan in HP are facing lack of development. The present BJP government in the state had failed to pay much attention to the development of these constituencies."

He said orchard owners in HP were happy with the UPA government's decision to introduce FDI in the retail sector. "Orchard owners feel that it will help them earn more profit as they will be able to sell their crops off season and at the national and international markets," said Joshi.

"The hard work being done by top Congress leaders will surely help the party to win and oust the BJP from power," he said.

 Election, award ceremony mark last session of poplar panel
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 2
The 24th session of the International Poplar Commission being held at the FRI on the concluding day conducted important tasks, including the declaration of results of election of the new executive committee, the presentation of synthesis of country reports, working parties reports and award ceremony and recommendations of the 24th session.

The day started with plenary session which was chaired by Dr RBS Rawat, PCCF, Uttarakhand, and co-chaired by Mirta Larrieu of Argentina and Jim Richardson of Canada.

The synthesis of country progress reports from different National Poplar Commissions was presented by Walter Kollart, Secretary, International Poplar Commission.

In his address, he said poplars were more used in degraded sites, combating desertification and in forest landscape restoration and highly valued for social and environmental services. In India, the trees outside forests had become a major source of raw material for wood-based industries. Increasing the productivity by expansion of agro forestry plantations will be critically important to meet the demand.

The ICFRE has developed the guidelines for testing and releasing of new clone and varieties. The area under poplar was expanded further due to R&D efforts aiming to increase the yield. The status of poplar extent, threads, growth, R&D efforts, statistics information and environmental applications from different countries were also presented.

The results of the election for the new executive committee were announced by Joris Van Acker from Belgium. The new executive committee consisted of 12 members, including Dr VK Bahuguna, DG, ICFRE, and Dr. Dinesh Kumar, scientist from FRI, India.

The other members of the executive committee hail from Canada, Argentina, China, France, Germany, Belgium, Serbia, Italy and Sweden. The next 
meeting of the executive committee will be held in Vancouver in 2014.

The closing session was chaired by Dr. V. K. Bahuguna. While making recommendations on the conclusion the Chairman of the International Poplar Commission, Stefano Bisoffi from Italy said the commission recognized and appreciated the focus on livelihoods, socio-economic and environmental benefits of poplar and willows to increase communication from the IPC to key stakeholders and the efforts to raise public awareness of the activities, outputs and initiatives.

On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the International Poplar Commission and on the conclusion of the 24th session, a short and impressive award ceremony recognising the outstanding service rendered to the IPC was held where medals were given to the identified personalities.

Those who were present during the award ceremony were Naldo Anselmi from Italy, Jim Carle from New Zealand, Ramesh Chand Dhiman from India, Jud Isebrands from the USA, Jim Richardson from Canada, Drusilla Riddell-Black from the UK, Marijke Steenackers from Belgium, Sven de Vries from the Netherlands and Weilun Yin from China. While the names of Qiwen Zhang from China, Teresa Cerillo from Argentina, Yukun Hua from China, Kurt Perttu from Sweden and Ferit Toplu from Turkey though announced, were not present.

On this occasion Dr Walter Kollert, Secretary, IPC- FAO, expressed confidence that all participating stakeholders were benefited from the discussions which took place during the presentations, plenary sessions, poster session, scientific meetings, working parties meetings and business sessions toward sustainable livelihoods, food security and poverty alleviation through poplar and willow cultivation.

While proposing the vote of thanks, Dr. P.P. Bhojvaid expressed gratitude to all participating delegates, funding partners and different organising committee members in making the session a great success.

  RLEK: Resume work on power projects

Dehradun, November 2
The Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) today demanded immediate resumption of stalled hydroelectric projects in the state to overcome the scarcity of power.

The RLEK alleged that a majority of members of the National Ganga River Basin Authority were anti-development and it should either be scrapped or reconstituted.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the RLEK said those hydroelectric projects in the state which had been stalled midway despite getting environment clearance and meeting other mandatory requirements should be restarted immediately.

Citing the example of the 330-MW Alaknanda hydroelectric project which, according to the RLEK, was stalled for the alleged violation of environmental regulations, the letter said work on it should be started without further delay by shifting the ancient Dhari Devi temple in the project area elsewhere.

It also demanded the constitution of the state Ganga River Basin Authority on the lines of the National Ganga River Basin Authority keeping in mind the country's federal structure and said the state governments should be given power to monitor the progress of the projects and take all decisions pertaining to them.

It also demanded the resumption of the 600 MW Loharinagpala and 480 MW Pala Maneri hydroelectric projects honouring the spirit of the High Court order in this regard and the recommendations of the Group of Ministers.

The Pala Maneri hydroelectric project was stalled midway by the then BJP government headed by BC Khanduri in 2008 after a dharna-cum-fast staged by environmentalist G D Agrawal.

Later coming under pressure, the Congress government at the Centre had also announced the closure of the Loharinagpala hydroelectric project. — PTI 

  Dengue kills man in Ranikhet

Pithoragarh, November 2
A man died of dengue in Naikana village of Ranikhet subdivision yesterday. Pan Singh (45) had been suffering from fever for the past few days and was admitted to a private hospital at Haldwani.

After he was tested positive for dengue, doctors at the Haldwani hospital referred him to a Delhi hospital.

However, he died on his way to the hospital. Although the medical department of Almora has been denying the spread of dengue in the Ranikhet and Salt areas of the district, as a precautionary measure, a team of doctors and lab technicians, led by district malaria office Arjun Singh Rana, has been sent to areas of Ranikhet subdivision.

Dr Abhishek Aggarwal, a member of the team, said they had visited several villages and taken blood samples of suspected persons. He said they would only be able to comment on the spread of dengue in the areas after the reports of the samples came.— OC