|
|
|
|
|
Electricity cuts hit Kumaon water schemes, traders
Cong rules out groupism in party ahead of rally
Clothes, blankets given to poor
|
|
|
|
Koshiyari calls on Governor
Mock drill at IndianOil terminal in Roorkee
Implement vendors’ policy in Haridwar, say traders
Crises forced state to buy power from private firms
BSES, Jalandhar team to clash for title
3 Chakrata residents held with cannabis
Farmers term hike in wheat MSP as paltry, unjustified
Training in census info dissemination imparted
|
|
Electricity cuts hit Kumaon water schemes, traders
Pithoragarh, December 28 According to sources in the local electricity distribution circle in Pithoragarh and Champawat districts, besides the five-hour power cut, rostering is also being done due to overload during the peak hours. “According to sources, five-hour electricity cuts are being imposed in the Kumaon hill region, 10 hours on steel furnace units and five hours cuts in small townships in the Terai region on a daily basis,” says Navin Tolia, an officer with the electricity distribution circle in the Kumaon region. According to the Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan sources, the Koshi water lifting scheme in Almora and the Ghat water lift scheme in Pithoragarh district have become non-operational as electricity supply is not sufficient to run these prime drinking water schemes for the required time. “Due to insufficient electricity supply, we could not lift required drinking water for the town, resulting in a water crisis in some localities,” says VK Mishra, Executive Engineer, Jal Sansthan, Pithoragarh. Almora town also faced a drinking water crisis as water could not be lifted from the Koshi scheme for the town due to five-hour power rostering from the grid at Rishikesh. “The Koshi water scheme has almost remained closed due to an insufficient supply of electricity,” said a Jal Sansthan engineer at Almora. Small businessmen are also suffering due to daily rostering from the grid and local traders are unable to run their businesses properly. “We are losing 90 per cent of the business these days due to lack of electricity," said Rajendra Bhatt, a computer hardware unit owner in Pithoragarh town. The Kumaon officers of Power Transmission Corporation and Uttarakhand Power Corporation have held talks to sort out the matter. They hope that the electricity shortage in the region will soon be resolved. “We are working to minimise rostering at the local level by balancing the demand and supply of electricity during peak hours in the region by removing weak points,” said SS Kanyal, Chief Engineer,
UPCL.
|
||
|
Cong rules out groupism in party ahead of rally
Haridwar, December 28 Talking to TNS, Congress state spokesperson Dhirendra Pratap tried to sink the differences between Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna faction that comprises party state chief Yashpal Arya, Pauri Garhwal parliamentarian Satpal Maharaj and the one led by Union
Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat. Pratap said he had held talks with both Arya and Rawat regarding the rally's preparations and both were working round the clock to ensure a record participation of people. “There is no groupism. In fact, by this rally we will prove that the Congress state unit is united, be it party leaders, office-bearers, ministers or grassroot workers. All work together to strengthen the party",
said Pratap. Rajesh Rastogi, spokesperson for Haridwar parliamentarian Harish Rawat, told TNS that from tomorrow, Rawat would be camping in the district and he had directed all his supporters to work hard for the mega rally. “Some reports in the media stating Harish Rawat not serious about rally are baseless and untrue. He is a representative of people and the party from Haridwar, so how can one think that he will be silent or neutral as far as crowd gathering is concerned", said Rastogi. While Cabinet Minister Furkan Ahmed has been lobbying for the past few days to mobilise party workers and people for mass participation in the rally. Dhirendra Pratap along with rally in charge Vijay Saraswat also called a meeting of district office-bearers at Shri Radha Krishan Dham where the final touches for the preparations of the rally were given. Vijay Saraswat said the rally had been given a name "Sangarsh Parv", which would infuse confidence among the party to retain the five parliamentary seats of the state in 2014 general election, which the Congress currently holds. In Haridwar city, rally organisers have booked 2000 rooms for district party workers, who will be coming for participation for the rally. |
||
|
Clothes, blankets given to poor
Haridwar, December 28 Dhanik was speaking at a camp for distribution of warm clothes organised by the Shri Panchayati Bada Akhada, Shahpur, Sheetlakheda, here today. Hundreds of woollen clothes, blankets, shawls and sheets were distributed to to the poor and needy on the occasion. Villagers and saints living in the purview of the Kankhal, Shahur, Ferupur, Mahtauli and Badshahpur villages were provided with the aid. While distributing the clothes, Dhanik said apart from the government, it was the duty of social organisations to help the poor. Bada Akhada Rampta panch Mahant Raghu Mani said human service was the best service and everyone should work towards the welfare of needy, poor
and disabled. Mahant Damodar Das and Mahant Jayendra Muni of the Bada Akhada Udashin Shah said that by the grace of Shri Chandra Bhagwan, saints had been able to contribute to the poor and needy villagers. He also shed light on various other works like free school education, school uniforms and scholarships, regular medical health check-up camps and distribution of ayurvedic and allopathic medicines being done by the akhada. Lakshar ADM Mohammed Nasir also lauded the efforts of saints while social activist Sardar Rohtash Singh shed light on numerous social works being done by the akhadas. Ram Lal Chauhan, Mahavir Singh, Shesh Raj Saini, Mahant Devendra Das, Mahant Damodaran Das, Mahant Darshan Singh, Mahant Braham Muni and Swami Raghvendra Das were present on the occasion. |
||
|
Party president's post
Dehradun, December 28 At a meeting with the state in charge Thawar Chand Gehlot, the names of the three were excluded and a list comprising leaders such as Dhan Singh Rawat (general secretary of the state unit), Vinod Uniyal (a woman face), Teerath Singh Rawat, Trivender Singh Rawat, Surat Ram Nautiyal, Lakhi Ram Joshi, Mohan Singh Rawat and Naresh Bansal were handed over to Gehlot. "The list that has been handed over to Gehlot does not contain the names of the three former Chief Ministers and now the central leadership will try to build consensus," confirmed BS Chuphal, BJP chief of Uttarakhand. Though the names of the trio comprising Khanduri, Koshiyari and Nishank do not figure on the list, their supporters' names are very much on the list. Gehlot will be leaving for New Delhi tomorrow. |
||
|
Koshiyari calls on Governor
Dehradun, December 28 Dr Charu Wali Khanna, member of the National Commission for Women (NCW), also met the Governor and discussed with him the issue of harassment of women. She showed him a poster brought out by the NCW regarding the code of conduct to protect women against harassment.
|
||
|
Mock drill at IndianOil terminal in Roorkee
Haridwar, December 28 The drill checked vital flaws by fire fighters, ambulance, police personnel and disaster management officers as well as the precautionary measures applied at the terminal. Red Cross volunteers too were given first-hand training of disaster management so that in real crisis, they come handy in aiding the administrative rescue teams. Disaster management officer Dr Naresh Chaudhari told TNS that local residents were also involved in this drill so that they could get the precautions and safety measures during disaster management. Chief Fire Officer Madhu Sudan lauded the efforts and time-based work by fire fighters, terminal employees and the disaster management team. Joint Magistrate Sonika emphasised on the need of having regular mock drills at various places so that one could gauge the awareness and preparatory level that come handy during any such incident. Several industrial unit officials and employees were also called to make sure that they too follow the precautionary measures as specified by the disaster management authority. |
||
|
State’s eco-conservation efforts recognised
Dehradun, December 28 The forest-predominant state has its own set of challenges when it comes to development- Environment degradation, the stringent Forest Conservation Act considered detrimental to development, human causalities in man-animal conflict and day-to-day destruction of agriculture by wildlife, particularly monkeys and elephants, and the nascent state trying to strike a balance between development and conservation. However, the biggest achievement for the state came in the form of Uttarakhand topping the Union Planning Commission’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) list. The index that considers environmental well-being efforts undertaken by a state is one of the considerations for the devolution of funds to the states under the Gadgil formula. Uttarakhand topped the list followed by Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Sikkim and Andhra Pradesh. Uttarakhand, in particular, has been lauded for its efforts to preserve forests as well as increasing the forest cover. Similarly, the year also saw the Centre approving the setting up of a conservation reserve at Pawalgarh and a wildlife sanctuary at Nandhour in the Kumaon region of the state. The state already has two conservation reserves and six wildlife sanctuaries. The Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board was set up after the gap of three years, thus giving fillip to wildlife linked policy making in the state. It was also for the first time that the National Tiger Conservation doled out funds to the state for conserving tigers in the territorial forest divisions in Corbett. On the darker side, a snow leopard skin was recovered in Dehradun, which came as a rude shock to the conservations policies. The rare wild cat can be counted on fingers and is on the verge of extinction in the state. Seizure of leopard skins and other body parts of wild animals also took place in number of areasin the state. The state authorities, however, also managed to get hold of Priya Bavaria, arrested by the Corbett authorities in connection to the steel traps found in the Bijrani range of Corbett in May this year. Meanwhile, some of premier forestry and wildlife institutions based in Uttarakhand continued to contribute their lot for the betterment of the country’s forest wealth. While Forest Research Institute played an important role in emphasising to take its researches to the people, the Wildlife Institute of India organised an international bear conference. Significantly, development versus conservation continued to be a major challenge in the state. The stringent Forest Conservation Act has drawn a deep wedge in generations old forest-human relationship in Uttarakhand. Hill folks no more feel free to collect fuel wood and fodder as per their necessity after the Forest Conservation Act being put in force. Even their right over forest produce no more exists. The Act has also been seen as the biggest impediment in the works of development. Many proposed hill roads cannot see the light of day due to the delay in forest clearances from the Union Forest Ministry. The issue of carpeting the Kandi road that criss-crosses the Corbett National Park is in lurch for long as it involves a protected area. This road is a lifeline for a large number of villages and links the Garhwal and Kumaon regions within the geographical limits of the state. The Ramnagar inhabitants, in particular, continued with their protests for the Kandi road. A massive protest was also staged outside Vidhan Sabha in Dehradun on the issue. A clear cut difference of opinion on the issue of construction of hydro power projects was also seen in the state. Youths, identified as workers of the under-construction Srinagar hydropower project, reached Lachmoli, Tehri Garhwal district, and tried to blacken the face of eminent environmentalist Bharat Jhunjhunwala at his own residence. Jhunjhunwala was opposing the construction of hydropower projects in the state. To sum up, the state is yet to find a solution to the development versus conservation issue.
|
||
|
Implement vendors’ policy in Haridwar, say traders
Haridwar, December 28 The small traders decided to hold a ‘Justice Rally’ in Haridwar on December 31 and authorised the association office-bearers to make arrangements to make it successful. All street vendors, hawkers and small traders would refrain from work to take part in the rally. District chief of the Laghu Vyapar Association Mahendra Saini said the Municipal Corporation should take up the vendors’ policy on priority, as without its implementation the interests and rights of the traders were getting affected. Divisional chief of the Laghu Vyapar Association Sanjay Chopra said under the policy the Municipal Corporation would issue licences and identity cards to the vendors at separate vending zones. This would provide the vendors a legal identity. Bhoopendra Rajput, treasurer of the vendors association, welcomed the Municipal Corporation move to conceptualise 15 vending zones but said unless the vendors’ policy was implemented in the district, interests of thousands of small traders would remain unprotected. “The small traders are suffering due to corruption in the Municipal Corporation and laxity on the part of some officers. There are 5,000 small traders in Haridwar whose interests need to be protected at all costs,” said
Rajput.
|
||
|
Crises forced state to buy power from private firms
Dehradun, December 28 Mega power houses like Maneri Bhali 1 and 11, too, had to be closed down due to damages. The plan of state government to give extra power to some other states during rainy season to take it back with additional supply during the lean winter season, too, went kaput with power generation getting drastically affected in the state. For the sheer reasons of mitigated power generation and restriction over the overdrawl from grid in the aftermath of the Northern Grid failure, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited
(UPCL) had to purchase power throughout the year to meet the gap between supply and demand. The corporation has bought electricity worth Rs 1,900 crore from private agencies and Rs 1,600 crore from the state’s own hydropower generation unit, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited
(UJVNL) and the Centre. It has also made agreement with private players for the purchase of 1,300 MW for Rs 1,350 crore from December till March. The average cost of power purchase from private sector has surprisingly come down from Rs 5.66 in year 2007-08 to Rs 3.81/per unit this year, thanks
to the increase in number of competitors. Managing Director, UPCL, AK
Johri, takes pride in not resorting to major power cut down in the state in the times of acute power crisis. He contended that power roistering or cut down was undertaken to the tune of 559 MU in the year which is at par with 560 MU of power cut in 2010-11, that too when the power demand was merely 10,011 in 2010-11 which has now shot up to 11,700 in 2012-13. He holds power equation of 2011-12 as an exceptional case for being the state Assembly election year when the corporation provided good power supply and roistered only 301
MU. UPCL continued its drive against power pilferage over the year while punishing the offenders. This way, the percentage of aggregate technical and commercial losses came down from 27.44 per cent to 25.82 per cent. The target for the next year has been set at 21 per cent. The corporation also took up some significant steps in the direction of improving its infrastructure, performance and introducing new amenities for the consumers. These include replacing bare low tension (LT) conductor with arial bunch conductor to reduce transmission loss as well as power stealth, replacement of phase-1 electromagnetic meters with tamper proof electronic meters, double metering of high tension (HT) connection consumers, bringing meters outside the consumer premises, 24x7 call centre operational for the registration of complaints, online status availability of application/requests/forms, payment of electricity bills in Punjab National Bank
and roistering information on website and SMS to industrialists. Johri assured to provide the facility of single window centralised service centre in
Dehradun, construction of 13 new 33/11 KV substations and 40,000 new distribution transformers in New
Year. UJVNL faced both disappointments and good news in terms of clearance of its long pending hydropower projects in 2012. Colossal damage to its small hydropower projects- Assi Ganga (4.5 MW), Assi Ganga II (4.1 MW) and Kaldigaad (9 MW), which were near completion at Uttarkashi when the Uttarkashi cloudburst gave a major set back to the corporation. The generation in other two big power houses, Maneri Bhalli I (90 MW) and Maneri Bhalli II (304 MW), remained closed for almost a month. The power generation plummeted abysmally low in the rainy season, when otherwise the generation would rise to such an extent that the state not only fulfilled its requirement but also lent power to other states. The other hydropower houses were closed time and again for the clearance of silt in the monsoon. Nevertheless, Vyasi (120 MW) and Lakhwar (320 MW) hydropower projects, which had been pending for more than a decade, were approved by the Technical Advisory Committee as well as the Central Water Committee at the
Centre, credit goes to the intense efforts of Chairman of UJVNL Subhash Kumar. Another small project, Kali Ganga (4 MW), also got commissioned. Three small projects- Urgam (3 MW), Pathari (20.4 MW) and Mohammadpur (9.3MW), are almost complete.
|
||
|
BSES, Jalandhar team to clash for title
Haridwar, December 28 In today's semifinal matches, the first semifinal was played between PNB Delhi and BSES Delhi. Both teams started a playing defensive in the first half which continued till the 70th minute. But Ashok struck in the 58th minute for BSES Delhi and scored the lone goal of the semifinal match. Spectators were expecting some thrilling contest and beautiful display of hockey in the second semifinal match played between Core of Signals, Jalandhar, and crowd favourite Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar. But the score line remained same with lone goal being scored by Core of Signal-Jalandhar forward Sandeep in the 31st minute of the first half. Though, local Gurukul Kangri University players tried their best to level the score but the solid defence and midline of the opponents proved too much for the Gurukul players. Tournament director RK Sharma was present during the matches played while officials Dr Mahaveer, secretary general, Dr Kartar Singh and Dr Ajay Malik met the players of both teams prior to start of the semifinal contests. |
||
|
3 Chakrata residents held with cannabis
Dehradun, December 28 The accused reportedly admitted to supplying drugs to students of different educational institutions in the city and Rishikesh. They were arrested while they were looking for potential customers. SSP Kewal Khurana said he was getting information about people who were selling drugs at liquor vends and tea shops. Khurana added the drug traffickers were targeting students, particularly those who had come from outside the city. The SSP issued strict instructions to all station officers to take instant action against those found indulging in drug trafficking in the city. Vendors meet Mayor Representatives of vendors’ organisations met Mayor Vinod Chamoli recently. Vendor Sanjay Gupta demanded dignified space in the city so that they could also run their business
at peace. He objected to the way the police and administration had been displacing them from all over the city and imposing heavy fines
and seizing their paraphernalia on being caught anywhere in the city. Mayor Vinod Chamoli referred the matter to the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari, while informing them that a policy for the vendors was already under way where places were being identified in the city to allow them to carry their business in a legal manner. He also assured the vendors that they would be provided licences for
the purpose. |
||
|
Farmers term hike in wheat MSP as paltry, unjustified
Dehradun, December 28 In a statement issued here today, Uttarakhand Kisan Sabha president Bachi Ram Kaunswal said the farmers even spent more than Rs 1,350 per quintal for growing wheat and thus the Union Government support price was totally unjustified. Kaunswal said the CCEA must re-consider the wheat support price decision by calling an emergency meeting on the issue. He added the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission must also be taken into consideration and the minimum support price for wheat must be raised to at least Rs 2,000 per quintal. He said the Uttarakhand Kisan Sabha on its part will also be launching an agitation shortly in this regard.
|
||
|
Training in census info dissemination imparted
Dehradun, December 28 On the second day of the Data Dissemination Workshop on the Ccensus 2011, various facets of the Censuinfo was shared with the participants. “The Censuinfo is an innovative and flexible database technology software which has been developed by the United Nations Statistics Division in partnership with UNICEF and the UNFPA to help countries disseminate their Census results at any relevant geographical level on CD ROM and on the web,” said SV Ukey, Deputy Director, Directorate of Census Operation. He said the census info India ver 2.0 on House Hold Amenities and Assets from Census 2011 provides access to this dataset on a number of indicators at the state and district level.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Classified | E-mail | |
In view of many disasters in various factories and industrial units in the district, an impromptu mock drill was carried out at an IndianOil terminal in Roorkee today under the supervision of district disaster management officer Dr Naresh Chaudhari and Joint Magistrate
Sonika.
The year 2012 proved to be a milestone for Uttarakhand as the state got the first-ever recognition for its efforts towards environment conservation. Uttarakhand emerged as the best performing state in terms of environmental well-being. The year also gave the state a new conservation reserve and a wildlife sanctuary.
The year 2012 had been a tough year for power situation in the state.
The unprecedented Northern Grid failure, which took place on July 30, was a big shocker and derailed the power supply in the state for couple of days. It took several days to regain normalcy. Besides this, some small hydropower projects that were around completion got damaged in the August Uttarkashi cloudburst.
The final match of the 81st All-India Swami Shraddhanand Hockey Championship will be played between BSES New Delhi and the Core of Signals tomorrow.
At the historic venue of Swami Shraddhanand hockey ground, the final will be played from 1pm, which is being hosted by Gurukul Kangri University.
