GMVN to organise yoga festival in Rishikesh this year
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 7
The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) has been designated as the nodal agency for organising the annual yoga festival week at Rishikesh from March 1. This decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Secretary, Tourism, Uma Kant Panwar and attended by Managing Director, GMVN, Dr Pankaj Pandey, General Manager, GMVN, HS Pandey and yoga representatives from Rishikesh. It was also meant to counter the monopoly of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram of Rishikesh which organized the festival every year.

HS Pandey said, “The Parmarth Niketan Ashram has been holding this event year after year while the Tourism Department of the state remained a mute spectator. Hence, the Secretary, Tourism, decided to designate the GMVN to organise the festival this year and also directed it to ensure that it turns out to be a better show this time.”

He said with the direct intervention of the Tourism Department the festival would be organised at a much higher scale where yoga experts from various other ashrams would also participate. These ashrams would carry out their programmes or yoga activities on their own premises within the time slot in the given week. This way, an array of yoga gurus, whose expertise could not be harnessed at the state level, would also gain from the opportunity.

The department would also benefit from giving a plethora of options to the international tourists who watched the event enthusiastically every year.

HS Pandey said, “The complete information about the ashrams, their location, programmes and registration fee will be uploaded on the website of the GMVN. Now, the tourists will be at liberty to make their own choices from among the options available on the website. The additional information about hotel/other accommodation will also be provided.”

Pandey added, “The yoga week will be an opportunity for us to well publicise the spiritual tourism opportunities abound in the state before international tourists. If this experiment is successful this year, the department can also hold the festival twice a year as well. Besides, we will also put up on our website the detailed information about other tourist destinations in the state, which could be visited alongside the festival.”

The participants of the festival would put across their schedules and fee charges before the department officials at the next meeting scheduled to be held at Ganga Resort at Rishikesh on January 10.

Kumaon leaders divided over capital issue
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, January 7
Congress leaders and other political and social activists in the Kumaon region are divided over the issue of the capital status to Gairsain. Leaders in Terai leaders have expressed their opinion in support of making Dehradun the permanent capital of the state, whereas hill leader are supporting Gairsain for the capital.

While Congress leaders in hill districts of the region seem to be toeing the line with the statement of Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal about making Gairsain the summer capital of the state, leader in the Terai region are against it. “It is a welcome decision to run session of Assembly at Gairsain for the convenience of the hill people but to have it as the capital of the state is not appropriate,” said Kiran Mandal, chairman of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam and former BJP MLA from Sitarganj. “If Gairsain is made the permanent capital, the state will have extra burden to run it,” averred Mandal.

Congress leaders from the Terai region are also against the decision of making Gairsain the permanent or summer capital of state. “Though it will depend upon the decision of the Chief Minister as to which one of the two will be the capital, but Gairsain should be given a privilege to have some Assembly sessions rather than making it the permanent state capital,” said Krishna Mandal, block president of the Congress at the Sitarganj block, US Nagar district.

Leaders in hill districts have welcomed the decision of Speaker to make Gairsain the summer capital of the state. “The Speaker has given his view taking the slow speed of development in hill districts after the creation of the state, therefore his decision should be followed by the government,” said Jagat Singh Khati, a senior Congress leader and former chairman of the Pithoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad.

The Pithoragarh Bar Association has passed a resolution welcoming the Speaker’s decision to make Gairsain the summer capital of the state.

Leaders in Almora district have united over the view of making Gairsain the permanent capital of state as besides the leaders of the Congress, leaders of Bahujan Samaj Party and BJP also want Gairsain as the permanent capital of the state. “We do not agree on merely making Gairsain the summer capital of state but our party wants to make it the permanent capital of the state,” said Shekhar Lakhchaura, leader of the BSP in Almora. While Congress leader Kundan Singh Bhandari expressed his view on making Gairsain the summer capital of state, BJP leader Govind Singh Pilkhwal said his party wanted Gairsain for the permanent capital of the state. “The state government is playing a dual game of selecting land for capital same time in Dehradun as in Gairsain,” said Pilkhwal.

Most of the leaders in Champawat district have also supported the statement of the Speaker of making Gairsain the summer capital of state. “Many leaders are in favour of making Gairsain the capital of the state as the realisation of the hill state of Uttarakhand will be completed only if its capital is in a hill area,” said Vikash Shah, a senior Congress leader, Champawat district. 

Demand for Gairsain as capital gets louder
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 7
With two Legislative Houses to be made separately at Gairsain (Chamoli) and Dehradun, the interim capital of Uttarakhand, voices of making Gairsain as permanent capital are being raised.

Eminent statehood freedom fighters, social activists and politicians in Haridwar have proposed to make Gairsain as the ideal city to be the capital of Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Kranti Manch, one of the major statehood movement outfits in 80s and 90s, has demanded from Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to declare Gairsain as the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.

Veteran statehood fighter JP Pandey cited the sentiments related with Gairsain during the Uttarakhand movement as the reason for making it as capital.

“When we fought for separate Uttarakhand, in the hindsight it was Gairsain as the capital of the future state. But the respective governments carried on with ‘interim capital’ Dehradun, which should now be stopped.

Pandey demanded Vidhan Bhawan to be made only at Gairsain and questioned the state government on the need of identifying the land for Vidhan Bhawan at Dehradun in Raipur.

While Congress leader Sanjay Chopra cited veteran Indian freedom fighter Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali had written to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru about Gairsain as the perfect place to be the summer capital of United Province and even suitable for India’s summer capital.

“Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali was one of the foremost thinkers and supporters of the separate hilly state in early 1950s. He was closer to Nehru and gave platform for the separate statehood movement, so his vision must be respected by having Gairsain as the capital of the state,”said Chopra.

While Uttarakhand Mahila Congress state secretary Meera Raturi said the hill states like Himachal Pradesh has Shimla and Sikkim has Gangtok, hill towns, as their capitals.

Film on Mahasu Devta screened at Muse Gallery
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 7
A 45-minute documentary film, “The Kingdom Comes,” documenting Mahasu Devta, a deity of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, was screened at the Muse Gallery. The film by Lokesh Ohri has been produced by SFB 619, Ritualdynamik, South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany.

According to Ohri, who is an anthropologist, activist and educator, “Mahasu Devta is not only a deity, but also a divine king who is followed not only in the Yamuna valley, but also in some areas of Himachal Pradesh.

“The film, shot on the location over the last four years, covers a wide gamut of rituals related to the cult of this deity,” said Ohri.

He is a deity that constantly travels across his kingdom in the Yamuna Valley region and dispenses justice while also healing his subjects. The film, though based on an anthropological subject, covers Mahasu treks and consecration ceremonies and appeals to a wide audience that may not be associated with the study of anthropology.

University of Heidelberg has produced the film while Frank Pfieffer and Sarah Ewald of Germany have been involved with the post-production. 

Congress eyes panchayat poll to strengthen position
Sonia not to lay stone of Assembly building: Arya
Tribune News Service

Yashpal Arya

Haridwar, January 7
The state unit of the Congress is eying the upcoming Tri-level panchayat elections with an aim to strengthen its position ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014.

Congress Uttarakhand president Yashpal Arya said this during a brief stay in the city today. He is also a Cabinet minister in the Vijay Bahuguna government.

Arya said with the past seven months of the state government being quite productive, he was confident that the people of the state would vote for the Congress in the panchayat elections and later in the parliamentary elections next year.

“We want to regain the five Lok Sabha seats that we at present hold in Uttarakhand and I don’t see any reason why we can’t repeat the feat. Party leaders, parliamentarians, legislators, office-bearers and workers should gear up for the panchayat elections due to be held shortly,” said Arya.

On the issue of permanent capital of the state, Arya said the foundation stone of the Legislative Assembly building in Gairsain would be laid on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti. However, no decision to declare Gairsain as the permanent or summer capital had been taken.

“A large section of the hill state has sentiments attached with Gairsain town owing to the fact that it was the wish of the statehood agitators to make it the capital of the state. Hence, we want to take a decision in this regard by consulting different sections and political parties of the state,” added Arya.

He said the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Sonia Gandhi, would not be coming to Gairsain for the laying the foundation stone of the Assembly building owing to the severe cold weather conditions in the region.

On the postponing of the Congress rally at Roorkee, Arya said it would be held in the coming days for which an appropriate date was being finalised. 

MLA bats for Vidhan Sabha on the hills
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, January 7
Congress MLA from Narendar Nagar Subodh Uniyal speaking to mediapersons in Mussoorie said the government was committed towards bringing development to the hills and the announcement of the Assembly building at Gairsain was indicative of that resolve of the Congress government.

Subodh Uniyal further said with this move, the development in the hills would speed up as according to the aspirations of the people.

The Congress MLA from Narendar Nagar lambasted the BJP government and said the state was formed during the tenure of the BJP but it failed to provide any relief to the hilly people and failed to lay stone at Gairsain.

Subodh Uniyal was of the view that the Assembly building at Gairsain was a step in the right direction as the place where the Cabinet meeting was held automatically gained respect.

Subodh Uniyal also said certain political parties were raking up the permanent resident issue unnecessarily.

The Congress government was only following the direction of the courts on the issue which clearly mentioned that all those citizens who have been living in the sdtate since 2000 should be provided the temporary residentship in Uttarakhand.

Need to change mindset of society to protect women: Governor
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 7
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has said sincere efforts were needed to change the mindset of society for protecting the dignity of women.

The Governor said this while talking to a delegation led by industrialist Dr S Farooq which visited him at Raj Bhavan today. He said a statewide awareness campaign with public support would go a long way in improving the way in which women were being treated in our society.

The delegation informed the Governor that a citizen group had been created to work in this direction. The members of the delegation told the Governor that they would be organising a discussion this month titled “Hamari Bachian: Ek Atmamanthan” in which important people of society would be included. The Governor appreciated the decision of the group.

The delegation comprised of former DGP Aloke B Lal, industrialist Rakesh Oberoi, well-known dancer Sharmila Bhartari and classical singer Suchit Narang.

Besides, the GOC (sub area, Dehradun) Major Gen SK Aggarwal, Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission member Justice Rajesh Tandon (retd), acting Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Open University Prof HP Shukla, UPES Chancellor Prof SJ Chopra and Ram Mahesh Mishra from Parmarth Niketan also met the Governor. 

Four women die of cold in Uttarakhand

Dehradun, January 7
Four women succumbed to the chill in Haridwar as entire Uttarakhand remained in the grip of a severe cold wave today with several districts in higher hills recording sub-zero temperatures.

Four women, aged between 50-62 years, died of cold in Kaliyar and Budhwa Sahid villages near Roorkee in Haridwar district yesterday, officials said.

The minimum temperature touched one degree celsius in Haridwar district which was enveloped in a thick blanket of fog.

The state capital of Dehradun reeled under intense cold registering a low of 1.3°C.

Districts located in higher reaches like Almora, Tehri Garhwal and Pithoragarh recorded sub-zero temperatures while Udhamsingh Nagar, Pauri and parts of Nainital were wrapped in dense fog, MeT office Director Anand Sharma told PTI.

Tehri district was the coldest at 0.5 degrees celsius followed by Mukteshwar at 0.4 degrees and Pithoragarh at 0.2 degrees.

Similar weather conditions have been predicted for the next few days in the state. —PTI

CM: Watch people’s interest during LPG verification drive
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 7
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, reviewing the meeting of the Civil Supply Department and senior officers of gas companies at the Secretariat, today directed the officers to conduct a verification drive for LPG connections taking into consideration the difficult geographical condition of the state and convenience of the consumers in the hill areas.

He asked them to reopen the gas connections after verification, if found as per the norms. Bahuguna directed the senior officers not to harass the consumers unnecessarily during the drive. He instructed them to give about 1.58 lakh gas connections after conducting Know Your Consumer (KYC).

He also asked the Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, to hold meetings with dealers from time to time to review the process. It was apprised at the meeting that subsidy cylinders would be issued from September 14, 2012, to March 31, 2013, to those who got the connections transferred in their names after the deaths of father, husband or other relatives.

KYC was mandatory for only those connections registered in the list of “One name one address or different names one address”.

Also present at the meeting were Irrigation Minister Yashpal Arya, Secretary, Food and Civil Supply, Subardhan, IOC state level coordinator Ashvini Dua, regional manager, IOC, VK Sundriyal, senior regional manager, HPCL, Mayank Bhatnagar, assistant manager, BPCL, Sumit Sharma, area sales manager, HPCL.

Sikh Mahasabha calls on Bahuguna
Tribune News Service

A delegation of the Rashtriya Sikh Mahasabha meets Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun on Monday.

Dehradun, January 7
A delegation of the Rashtriya Sikh Mahasabha, led by its president Harpal Singh Sethi, called on Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at his residence on Monday and submitted a memorandum of their demands to him.

Bahuguna said the state government was committed to the welfare of all sections of the society.

He said the government had launched several welfare schemes for the members of the Punjabi community.

He said all communities ought to extend their active support to the state government for the overall development of the state. He assured them to look into the memorandum and do the needful accordingly.

Meanwhile, Vice-Chancellor of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Central Garhwal University Professor SP Singh also met Chief Minister Bahuguna and discussed about the issues pending between the university and the state government. Bahuguna assured him to take concrete step in this direction.

Traders to follow redevelopment plan
Tribune News Service

Dehradun January 7
Members of the Indira Market and the General Merchant Welfare Association have agreed to go by redevelopment plan of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA).

Secretary Surender Kumar Gupta said if the MDDA settled them in blocks, each occupying 50 shopkeepers, then they had no issue on redevelopment plan. He said the MDDA should not let any confusion prevail and must keep them updated about the development on the matter.

Trader Satish Meha said the MDDA must keep the traders interest in consideration while enforcing the plan.

Experts, scholars to take part in yoga festival
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 7
Yoga guru Swami Ramdev today termed yoga as an art that was widely admired owing to its positive results and no side effects.

Ramdev was speaking at the inauguration of Yoga Festival at Patanjali Yogpeeth Phase II here today. During the festival, yoga experts, practitioners and scholars will dwell on varied topics and also present research papers on the said subject.

On the sidelines, Ramdev lashed out at the UPA government for being apathetic towards the common man.

He added that many foreign countries were surviving their economies owing to the undisclosed amount disposed in their banks by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats of India.

Ramdev also hinted at providing the people a political alternative from his side but did not divulge much. 

3 leopard skins seized, 2 held
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, January 7
The Pithoragarh police has seized three skins and some bones of leopards and arrested two persons, including a woman, in Dharchula.

Two of the seized skins were recovered from the woman, said DIG Ganesh Singh Martolia.

“Our special operation group personnel recovered two leopard skins from the woman in Dharchula when she was trying to smuggle these to Nepal. One more leopard skin was recovered from a person in Pithoragarh town whose name was revealed by her to the police during interrogation,” said the DIG.

He added the arrested persons were mere carriers of the skins, while the kingpin of the wildlife smugglers was still at large. “We have achieved some success in cracking the network of wildlife smugglers active on the Nepal border by arresting the two persons,” said the DIG. 

Develop infrastructure in border areas: Jain
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 7
The Chief Secretary, Alok Kumar Jain, has directed the officials concerned to develop the basic infrastructure according to the requirements of the people living in the remote border areas. He was speaking at a state-level screening of the Border Area Development Project at the Civil Secretariat here today.

It was discussed in the meeting that the Centre had approved Rs 35.65 crore under the Border Area Development Project for 2012-13 out of which Rs 15.24 crore has been disbursed to the border districts. In all 674 works had been undertaken under the project. Horse lane from Untadhura to Kingri Vingri was being constructed with the budget of Rs 18.30 lakh at Pithoragarh district and the tourism guest house was being constructed with the budget of Rs 9.54 lakh. A guest house was being constructed at the Suki village with the budget of Rs 20 lakh in Chamoli and facilities at the Dronagiri Community Tourism Guest House was being extended with Rs 32.98 lakh.

Secretary, Rural Development, Vinod Fonia, said various training programmes were being conducted for skill development and capacity building at Champawat district with a budget of Rs 12.59 lakh and at Pithoragarh district with Rs. 48.82 lakh. Besides, renovation and repair works were also being carried out at Pithoragarh, Champawat, Udham Singh Nagar, Chamoli and border areas of Uttarkashi.

The meeting was attended by DG, School Education, PS Jangapangi, additional secretary, Tourism, Amit Negi, Pithoragarh District Magistrate CMS Bisht and other senior officials.

Striking ministerial staff hold talks with Harak Rawat
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 7
The striking ministerial employees, who had talks with Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya yesterday, held another round of talks with Medical Education Minister Harak Singh Rawat this evening.

The meeting that began late in the evening was still on at the time of filling this report and there were no signs of any breakthrough.

However, Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain has already expressed the inability of the government to fulfil their demands as these fell in the jurisdiction of the Central government. “We are ready to hold discussions with the ministerial employees on the issue of removal of anomalies in the pay scales, but there are issues that are beyond our means,” he said.

The employees under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Federation of Ministerial Service Association have been on an indefinite strike since December 26. 

Aam Aadmi Party gets people’s support
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 7
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), spearheaded by bureaucrat-turned political activist Arvind Kejriwal, has started making its presence felt in Haridwar. Impressed by the common man ideology and anti-corruption drive, people from all walks of life are joining the party.

This was evident today at the district-level committee formation procedure where social activists, academicians, IITians, medical experts, teachers, students, retired Army personnel, entrepreneurs, businessman and even housewives joined the party as members and office bearers.

Election for the district working body was held unanimously, indicating the transparent working of the party.

In the coming days, working bodies for gram sabha, Municipal Corporation and students’ wing will also be formed to strengthen the party’s base ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Talking to The Tribune, national election observer for the AAP Yogesh Dahiya said the party had formed working body in 308 districts of the country till date. Continuing with the process, the party has started the formation of working body in the state.

Newly elected members JP Baduni, Ajay Sharma and Prerna Kainthola said the party would prove to be a major force in Haridwar as public was perturbed by corruption and politics of the main parties.

Sugandha Verma, commerce teacher at SMJN College, said she felt inclined towards the AAP owing to its being a party with a difference in objectives, manifesto, ideology, working, internal party election and will to bring a change in the system.