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Tibetans seek world support on uprising day
Tibetans take out a march on National Uprising Day in Dehradun on Sunday.
Protesters highlight atrocities by Chinese in Tibet
Shops closed in Nainital
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Expelled Congress members take out a protest march against party disciplinary committee members in Haridwar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Gateway to Corbett, Ramnagar, hot spot for tiger poachers
Intl Yoga Festival leaves behind memories — sweet and bitter
Dehradun Diary
Postponement of DMC poll: Will big projects get the nod?
Transfers and postings of police officials
Saras Mela a boon for farmers
Janyatra begins from Jageshwar Dham
Calendar of Nanda Devi yatra out
Five killed in Uttarkashi road accident
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Tibetans seek world support on uprising day
Dehradun, March 10 Addressing Tibetan community members at Parade Ground, Tshering Dolma urged the world community to stand against the genocide of Tibetans unleashed by Chinese in Tibet. She also expressed gratitude to India for constantly extending their support to the Tibetan cause. Dehradun Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma and BJP Dehradun Mahanagar President Neelam Sehgal were some of the political leaders that reached Parade Ground to express solidarity with the agitating Tibetans. |
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Protesters highlight atrocities by Chinese in Tibet
Mussoorie, March 10 The community members, under the aegis of the Regional Tibetan Association, marched from Library Bazaar to Picture Palace and back shouting slogans and carrying placards in protest of the Chinese repression in Tibet. The community members also held prayers and remembered the sacrifices of their brethrens inside and outside Tibet. Coordinator of the march Sonam Topgyal said the peace march was being organised to bring the Tibetan community under one roof in the fight against the forceful Chinese occupation in Tibet. He further said since February 8, 2009, more than 107 Tibetans have self-immolated themselves as a mark of protest against the oppressive Chinese regime and this march was to remember their sacrifices and pay homage to such souls who were demanding the return of The Dalai Lama and freedom for Tibet. Topgyal condemned the policy of oppression followed by China for the past several decades that had led to death of thousands of Tibetans in mainland. The community members later gathered at the Library chowk and read out their demands and appealed to the international community and India to support their cause so that peace is maintained in the region. The main demands of the protesters were to send a peace mission to Tibet to assess the atrocities being committed on the community by the Chinese regime and to recognise all the self-immolation acts committed by the Tibetan community members. The members also demanded change in the aggression policy of the Chinese against Tibetans. The Tibetan Women Association will also carry out a protest march on March 12 in Mussoorie. It was on March 10, 1959, in Lhasa, Tibet, that Tibetans rose up against the Chinese occupying forces, leading to the death of thousands of Tibetans and the eventual the exile of The Dalai Lama. A signature campaign was also organised in support of Tibet in the town.
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Shops closed in Nainital
Pithoragarh, March 10 The Tibetan community worldwide celebrates March 10 as the revolt day. On this day in 1959, the Tibetans revolted against the Chinese occupation, which was ultimately crushed by the China using armed forces. “The Chinese authorities have killed more than a million Tibetans, destroyed 60,000 monasteries and jailed thousands of youths since the revolt began in 1959,” said Tenzing Lundup, president of the Tibetan Regional Youth Congress. The Tibetan marchers held placards some of which read ‘How many lives will China take?’ and ‘China lies and Tibetan dies’. |
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Expelled leaders accuse Cong of bias
Haridwar, March 10 Former general secretary of the Uttarakhand Congress Committee and former ward councillor Naeem Qureshi, along with their supporters, accused the party of being biased towards them. They said they were facing bias because they were close to Haridwar parliamentarian Harish Rawat. They also held a media briefing. Rao Affaq refuted the charges levelled against them by the committee while questioning the status of the committee members. “Who are they (Dhirendra Pratap or Vijay Saraswat)? Nothing, but street leaders without any mass base. Virendra Singh looked drunk as he threw papers on our faces and held hands of glamorous party leader Shilpi Arora. They also misbehaved with us,” said Rao Affaq. Naeem Qureshi warned that it would lose a major chunk of dedicated party workers from sub-urban Jwalapur, where a majority of minority people resides. He said it would harm the party’s prospect in the upcoming corporation and parliamentary elections. “We will be holding Nyay Yatra in Haridwar and Dehradun to get justice. We will also try to meet Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to apprise them of the injustice being meted out to us,” said Qureshi. On his visit to the state recently, Rahul Gandhi asked the party workers to refrain from speaking
in public platform about inner disputes. On this, Rao Affaq said they were just expressing their displeasure because they were dissatisfied with the expelling decision. Meanwhile, state party spokesperson Hazi Naeem Qureshi also urged the party high command to rollback the decision taken by the disciplinary committee. He also expressed his support to the two expelled leaders, saying that they would be part of Nyaya Yatra to seek justice for the veteran leaders. |
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Gateway to Corbett, Ramnagar, hot spot for tiger poachers
Dehradun, March 10 A report by TRAFFIC, wildlife trade monitoring network, and the WWF nomenclatured "Reduced to Skin and Bones Revisited" has identified Ramnagar in Uttarakhand along with Balaghat, Jabalpur, Sunderban and Satyamangalam as hotspots for tiger poaching activities in the country. Ramnagar town that is the main gateway to Corbett has being in thick of poaching activities for long. With a population of around 70,000, Ramnagar township that has a large slum population has been in the limelight for anti-wildlife activities for past several years. Most of the population here is poor and the presence of the communities like kanjar, traditionally involved in anti-wildlife acts, is also significant. Even notorious poachers like Sansar Chand and Dariya had their bases in Ramnagar. Interestingly, all commercial activities linked to wildlife tourism or other services for Corbett National Park take place in Ramnagar. The economy of Ramnagar is totally dependent on Corbett as the region is devoid of any employment opportunity. The sole livelihood option for Ramnagar inhabitants is getting some, full or part time work in Corbett. Thus unemployed get naturally inclined towards anti wildlife activities like felling of trees and poaching. Tiger conservationist and Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, JN Vyas University, Jodhpur, Dr Hemsingh Gehlot, who worked in Ramnagar for several years in the past, attributes poverty and lack of livelihood opportunities forcing people, particularly the youth, taking to anti-wildlife activity in Ramnagar and adjoining areas. "With tiger population thriving in Corbett and its territorial forest divisions like Ramnagar, miscreants find tiger an easy target to make fast money", Gehlot says. Significantly, Ramnagar is also the gateway to Kumaon hills as it is the last township of the Terai belt when one starts ascending towards the hills. Ramnagar is also effectively linked to the national capital Delhi through the rail and road route and stands as most strategic area for poachers for acts of wildlife trafficking. Tiger deaths in Ramnagar have been very frequent in recent years. Only last month, two tigers were found dead in the Ramnagar forest division with a tigress being found dead in the first week of March followed by the discovery of a dead cub tigress a few days ago. Though forest officials claimed that both deaths were natural, wildlife activists do not rule out role of human settlements in close vicinity in such anti-wildlife acts. |
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Intl Yoga Festival leaves behind memories — sweet and bitter
Dehradun, March 10 The support of Swami Vishudhanand of Sri Swami Narayan Ashram to the management of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), subsidiary of the Tourism Department, was laudatory. It was he who provided transportation and three meals a day to all the guests of GMVN, all free of cost. The swami also played the role of a perfect event manager. From designing and printing invitation cards, theme booklets to planning the list of programmes vis-à-vis experts on yoga and spiritual experts from his contacts, he did all this smoothly and voluntarily. Swami Vishudhanand said: “I took up this yoga festival as a service to humanity. Yoga is often presented in a distorted form. So I wanted people to experience yoga in pure form. I arranged for sessions on various genres of yoga on 10-12 spots in Rishikesh during this festival.” He said he offered his help when he came to know that GMVN was dithering on the decision of organising this festival due to its financial constraints. Ashram is supported by Gujarati devotees who fund the ashram and a school of Veda studies. Another spiritual guru, Swami Amrit Survananad, 70 plus, citizen of Portugal, fetched a lot of attention. He said he came to Rishikesh long ago in his youth and was so enamoured by yoga and spirituality that he not only embraced asceticism but also opened some 37 yoga centres and began holding an international yoga festival in his country. The credit of success of the festival also goes to GMVN officials such as General Manager, HD Pandey, and managers BD Petwal and DS Negi . GM, Pandey, said: “GMVN employees and officials worked tirelessly to make this challenging event a success. All of them deserve the credit for the success.” The faux pas such as absence of any yoga guru in the banners and hoarding, which carried only the photos of political leaders put up throughout the city in wake of yoga festival exposed the politically inclined mindset of bureaucrats. Similarly, absence of officials of another tourism wing, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, in this important event of Tourism Department bared the fissures between these two branches. Thirdly, despite mentioning in the invitations, GMVN failed to hold cultural programmes on March 3, given to mismanagement at the backdoor. However, the Art of Living team held the fort and enthralled the audience with their soulful bhajans. An accounts officer from GMVN headquarters took away the entire cash from Rishikesh branch in the middle of the festival on March 2 morning, without informing the GM or other officials about it. This led to so much ruckus and discontentment that clouds of cancelling the event hovered on the scene. The situation, however, was handled well by GM Pandey. The number of those ashrams/hotels which showed willingness in participating in the festival organised by the Tourism Department for the first time at Rishikesh increased from 12 to 24 by February 28. Basking in the success of the festival, they shared their personal experiences with The Tribune. General Manager, Ganga Kinare Hotel, Pradeep Semwal, said: "The state Tourism Department has made a new beginning by opening the doors of this festival for every one. Our hotel has been conducting such events from since 1980. From 1992, the state government began favouring Parmarth Niketan Asharm and stopped giving us patronage." He showed photos of celebrity guests such as actress Hema Malini and yoga guru BKS Iyenger during such events. Elaborating on the efforts put by his hotel for the yoga festival this year, he said: " We held special Gangaji arti early in the morning and at sunset time and offered satvic food made of organic vegetables and herbs, minus onion or garlic, and jhangora rice with bransh flower juice. Yoga and spiritual sessions were also held after periodic intervals." Deviating from commercial concerns on this pious occasion, the hotel also showed streaks of philanthropy by allowing students of AIIMS, Seema Dental Collega, PG College and DS Public Schools of Rishikesh to participate in these sessions free of charge. Caretaker of Om Arogaya Yog said that the forte of their ashram was arogaya yoga, meaning health yoga. So they held special classes focusing on diverse ailments and related yoga therapies as a counter treatment for them. The classes were also held to teach participants about natural herbs or plants, which grew around them and had astounding medicinal properties. Manager of Ganga Resorts BD Petwal said they did not get much time to prepare on a war-footing level for such an important event, announced only a month ago before the D-day. He said he would start the preparations from the beginning itself for next year's festival by taking contact numbers of those who showed interest for such events and also tying up with renowned yoga and spiritual gurus. Manager of Divine Resort SK Kukreti said the festival presented an opportunity for domestic tourists to learn about the pristine yoga and its varied forms as earlier a special package of yoga had been offered to lure foreign tourists by an ashram which enjoyed monopoly and, hence, targeted it's niche foreign audience.
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Dehradun Diary
THE high-profile visit of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the first after his elevation in the party to Uttarakhand, has given a clear and loud message to party leaders that grassroot party workers cannot be ignored in the new dispensation, particularly in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in 2014.
In a marked change, Rahul Gandhi interacted one to one with the grassroot party functionaries from each district and listened to their views and woes. To give a curt message, he told the senior party leaders, including general secretary in charge Birender Singh, Union Minister Harish Rawat, state Congress Chief Yashpal Arya and Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj, to cool their heels outside as he interacted with the party functionaries. Rahul Gandhi was also candid in showing his displeasure at the going-ons in the party affairs and the method of ticket distribution at the time of assembly or other elections. He openly opposed the method of decision making in ticket allocation by a coterie of senior party leaders who decide ticket nominations as per their wishes and fancies. He categorically stated that in the coming days this pattern is going to change in the party and a more decentralised system where candidate would be nominated from the block level would be introduced. His visit also gave an opportunity to him to assess the popularity of his own Congress state government which would be completing its first year in office this week through the eyes of the common Congress worker in the field. As per the reports, Congress party workers in their one to one meeting with their leader gave vent to their anger and frustration at the failure of governance of the state government in every field. The state party organisation also came under immense fire as various factions did not let go the opportunity to embarrass the party leadership and undue interference by senior state party leaders. Although, Rahul Gandhi kept his cool but he did let know his displeasure to some of the senior party leaders, particularly senior minister Indira Hariydesh who was told that there were so many complaints against her by party workers from her own districts. Interestingly, state Congress chief Yashpal Arya and Indira Hariydesh, both hailing from Haldwani town, are arch political rivals. The Congress vice-president, also put Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and state Congress chief Yashpal Arya on notice by telling them to improve coordination between the state government and the party organisation as he would be re-assessing their performance during his next visit within three months. Rahul Gandhi was also particularly worried about the outcome of the Lok Sabha poll scheduled to be held in May 2014. The response of the party workers was reportedly not very encouraging on this poser. His visit did start showing effect as both Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat met the very next day for two hours. The message was clear to bury their differences for better performance in the coming Lok Sabha polls. It will be seen what changes Rahul Gandhi envisages to galvanise the party in
Uttarakhand. — SMA Kazmi |
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Postponement of DMC poll: Will big projects get the nod?
Dehradun, March 10 However, the small development projects are being cleared as the councillors too are in hurry to put up good performance before their voters prior to the election. In the wake of this, projects worth Rs 1 lakh were okayed this week. But all the big projects are stalled for the want of Budget provisions. Mayor Vinod Chamoli said: “This kind of bullying attitude of the state government has been unprecedented where the government imposed a ban on development of big projects by holding back funds. This kind of action is understandable when the model code of conduct becomes effective prior to election. But the GO issued on restraining big projects much earlier to that smells of conspiracy to let DMC board down." He said the rhetoric of bringing development in the state by the government was mere pretension. The move behind the GO was also meant not to let BJP take any credit before the public and avail it's benefit during election. Leader of Opposition in DMC Ashok Verma did not agree with the Mayor and said: “The logic behind stalling mega proposals at this juncture is because of shortage of time. Even if the state government clears the projects and sanctions the funds, the projects can also not be completed till the election time. Moreover, there might be diverse opinion of the new working committee or DMC board on them. It is better to let the new team take charge in the DMC and then carry forward these projects as per their take on them.” Replying to Chamoli on the sensitive issue of taking credit on development, he said the BJP failed in completing many development projects, be they the renovation of Gandhi Park, beautification of Clock Tower or the park around Ambedkar's statue. All of them were hanging in balance. The Mayor, too, fired back saying that Mukhya Nagar Adhikari and other bureaucrats in DMC who enjoyed the executive powers worked as puppets of Congress and did not let these projects see the light of the day deliberately. Amid the war of words on both sides, the development and welfare of public suffers in the end.
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Transfers and postings of police officials
Dehradun, March 10 Similar CO, Traffic, Swatantar Kumar, has been made as CO, office. Kumar has been under scanner for not performing up to the mark. CO, Mahipal, has been entrusted with the responsibility as CO, Rishikesh. SO, Vasant Vihar, Abdul Kalam, has been sent to Nehru Colony as SO. Public Relations Officer (PRO) to SSP, Shankar Singh Bisht, has been appointed as SO, Raipur. The former SO, Raipur, Rajiv Rauthan, who had been transferred from Raipur to Mussoorie for failing to crack the shooting case of Rishabh Bansal, son of owner of Solitaire Hotel, Rishi Bansal, has once again transferred to the Investigation Cell. The purpose behind the fresh transfer seems to be honing Rauthan's skill in investigations, an area where he appears to be lacking. Sub-Inspector Bharat Singh has taken the charge as PRO to SSP. He has handled this post in the absence of regular PRO many times earlier as well. SO, Nehru Colony, Amarjit Singh, has been made SO, Rajpur. Sub-Inspector Ravi Saini has been transferred to Narcotics Cell. Sub-Inspector Majul Rawat has been transferred as police post in charge, Panditwadi. Neeraj Kumar has been made police post in charge, Herbertpur, and Kundan Lal transferred from Herbertpur to Kotwali. |
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Saras Mela a boon for farmers
Pithoragarh, March 10 According to the information given by the Rural Development Department, the mela generated a revenue of Rs 1,55,000 out of the sale of the produces in two days. “Our produce which had been branded as ‘Sor
Saugat,’ includes local pulses, flower of local cereals, warm cloths, herbs used traditionally to cure different ailments by locals, locally produces citrus fruits and pickle,” said Naresh Kumar, project director of the District Rural Development Agency,
Pithoragarh. The farmers, who brought the local produce for sale in the mela seemed happy with arrangements done by the district administration to facilitate and sell their produces, demanded mela every month instead of three months. “If our local produce, which does not get market, gets marketed through these
melas, the farmers doing bio farming in remote part of the district will be economically benefited,” said Jeewan
Danu, a farmer who reached to sell his agriculture produce in the mela from Nachni village of Munsiyari block. According to Chief Development Officer of the district, more than 20 stalls of farmers from eight blocks of the district were displayed at the two-day fair which was repeated in every three months. “Our’s are high quality produce and by organising these types of fairs, we are availing markets for the farmers and quality goods for the consumers,” said Raghav
Langhar, Chief Development Officer of the district. |
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Janyatra begins from Jageshwar Dham
Pithoragarh, March10 The march, which is being carried out by Uttarakhand Lok Vahini with the support of Azadi Bachao Andolan and other like-minded organisations will cover almost the entire state in the coming 10 days. "We will awaken people on the increasing danger of water commercialisation which is coming in the way of big hydroelectric projects in the state of Uttarakhand alone," said Shamsher singh Bisht, president of Lok Vahini and convener of the march. The march, which headed towards Danya town of Almora district today, was represented by, besides Shamsher Singh Bisht, PC Tiwari of Lok Vahini, Swapnil Srivastava, Suman Sharma and Pradeep Kumar of Azadi Bachao Andolan. Kedarnath temple reopens on May 14
The sacred portals of the famous Kedarnath temple in the Garhwal Himalayas will reopen on May 14 after its six-month annual closure during winters. The auspicious timing at 7 am and the date for the ceremonial reopening of the temple portals was decided today by the chief priest of the temple Diwakar Ling in the presence of religious and administrative officials in Ukhimath, Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee sources said. Dedicated to Lord Shiva and situated at a height of 3,581 metres above the sea level, Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand is closed for six months every year during winter time due to snowbound conditions. Among the famous Char Dhaams of Uttarakhand, Badrinath will reopen on May 16 whereas the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri will reopen on May 13
on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya. — PTI
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Calendar of Nanda Devi yatra out
Dehradun, March 10 The Governor accepted Tarun Vijay's proposal to become the patron of the committee. He said as patron, he would make all efforts to make the 19-day yatra a success. He said a proposal should be prepared to ensure that no problems occurred during the yatra. Ten youths were introduced to the Governor. They will be the team which will undertake a
survey of the yatra route on the basis of which arrangements for the yatra would be made. This survey
journey has been given the name Swami Vivekanand Yatra. The Governor congratulated Tarun Vijay for his efforts. Dr Sushmita Sen threw light on the various places were Vivekanand meditated during his visits to Uttarakhand. Tarun Vijay welcomed the guests and said the sites where Swami Vivekanand meditated should be conserved and developed.
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Five killed in Uttarkashi road accident
Dehradun, March 10 According to State Disaster Mitigation and Management authorities, the ill-fated jeep, was carrying a total of 8 devotees when it fell into a river at Krishna Gaon, near Barkot, in Uttarkashi district at around 3.50 pm. While five persons died on the spot, 1 injured was taken to Barkot hospital for treatment. The victims had gone to a temple to celebrate Mahashivratri and were returning back when the mishap took place. The district administration has started relief and rescue operations.
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Dehradun, March 10
Rahul Gandhi made it clear verbally as well as by his actions that he would rely more on the grassroot party functionaries rather than depending solely on the regional party straps who had been running their own individual factions and camps and working for their own petty interests at the cost of the party.