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4-lane road may not be completed on schedule
Sandal House athletes steal the show
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Budget session stalls anti-polythene drive
Regular movement of elephants in residential colonies
Admission to medical courses on NEET basis
Public display of leopard's body to be probed
NSS camp under way at Shantikunj
Blend of science, technology can improve quality of life, says Ucost DG
Appointment of anti-poaching officers sought
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4-lane road may not be completed on schedule
Dehradun, March 15 Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLO)/Joint Magistrate Ranjana Verma said: “There is a lot of confusion in revenue records of the villagers whose land was being acquired by the NHAI. The entire process of setting the record right is taking a lot of time.” The area of Majri Grant is specifically afflicted with this problem. NHAI official Rakesh Gusain said they could acquire only 44 per cent land since the date of notification in the year 2009. He said despite these odds, NHAI had released a sum of Rs 56 crore till date. NHAI has been successful in acquiring land of Mohkam Khurd, Miyawala, Lachiwala, Kanharwala, Bhaniawala, Athoorwala, Jivanwala, Fatehpur Tanda, Khairi Kala and Haripur Kalan. The villages which have not yet surrendered their land are Harrawala, Kuanwala, Sidarwala, Khairi Khurd, Pratit Nagar and Khand Raiwala. The residents of these villages have not agreed to the cost of the land given by NHAI and, hence, are refusing the land. However, ever since SLO Ranjana took over the matter, the matter has fastened. She said: “I am holding many camps each week in these villagers and persuading the villagers to accept the prescribed amount or else their land will be acquired and the money which they are refusing will be deposited in the treasury of the District Magistrate's office. After these camps, many villagers from Kunwala, Harrawala, Sidarwala and Kairi Khurd are coming forward to take the money.” Advocate Jitender Garg, who is fighting many such cases of villagers, said: " The poor villagers have been given a raw deal. The sale deed of two years prior to notification, which is the year 2009, was examined to fix the rate of the land for acquisition. The compensation will be given this year. The rate of land has risen. People who were losing their big houses or shops cannot buy even smaller houses or shops at the present circle rate.” Sudhishana Sharma, a widow and resident of Majri Grant, said she lost a 130 sq meter house under NHAI project for which she was getting merely Rs 4 lakh. She said she could not afford a house with that amount. Gurmukh Singh of Bhaniawala is also losing his entire agriculture land and half of his house in the acquisition for which he was getting merely Rs 7 lakh.
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Sandal House athletes steal the show
Dehradun, March 15 On the first day of the four-day meet, Sandal House made its mark in the 1500m race for women. Shilpa from Sandal House stood first while Dolly and Adaya, both from Sandal House, clinched the second and third positions, respectively. In the 1500 m men’s event, Prashant of Sal House got the first position, Nandan of Sandal House got second and Gaurav Kamboj of Pine House stood third. In the shot-put event for women, Moitey of Sal House was first, Kinele of Sal House second and Arti of Sandal House third. In the men’s shot-put section, Satya of Sandal House got the first position, Chandra Pratap of Sal House stood second and Preetam of Sandal House third. Earlier, the chief guest on the occasion, Dr VK Bahuguna, Director General, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, and Chancellor, FRI (Deemed) University, reviewed the march past. In his brief address, Dr Bahuguna appealed to the participants to be ready to put up a tough and healthy competition. "Sports activities are important components in the growth of an individual, mentally as well as physically. Such competitions rejuvenate the person's capability to take on his day's work more efficiently,” said Dr Bahuguna. Director, FRI, Dr PP Bhojvaid, said the sportsman spirit kept much importance while participating in such games. The Dean, FRI University, Dr Ramesh K Aima, gave a welcome address. He said the students of the FRI, including research scholars, are taking part in the event. Students of the university are divided into four houses- Teak House, Pine House, Sandalwood House and Sal House. Several events like 100 m, 200 m, 4x100 m, 1500 m and cross country races for both men and women categories are to take place in the meet.
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Displaced shopkeepers launch agitation
Haridwar, March 15 Hundreds of traders’ establishments were razed during the 2010 Maha Kumbh by the district administration in the name of enlarging the stretch. At that time some vacant lots were earmarked so that the affected shopkeepers could be rehabilitated. Three years past nothing concrete has been done so far. It has aggravated the woes of the shopkeepers and their families. Addressing the traders, Tilak Raj the small traders were being exploited while influential and political background traders who had illegal hotels, malls and commercial plots in the city were not even touched. Social activists JP Pandey warned the district administration and Municipal Corporation to rehabilitate these affected traders as early as possible or they would be forced to stage agitation in front of the DM and Chief Minister’s office. Executive officer of the MC Harshwardhan Mishra said the 2010 Maha Kumbh encroachment drive paved a way for smooth conduct of the fair. It was not exploitation, he said. He said the process to earmark trading lots was under way and the affected shopkeepers will allotted the same on a priority basis.
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Budget session stalls anti-polythene drive
Dehradun, March 15 The administration had given relaxation on a ban on polythene bags till March 15 after shopkeepers approached the District Magistrate stating that that they were not given enough time to dispose of the stock in their shops. City Magistrate Harak Singh Rawat said the drive could not be launched today as officials remained busy with the Budget session. Rawat said he was to hold a meeting with polythene stockholders today, but could not do so. However, Joint Magistrate Ranjana has directed sale tax officials not to allow the entry of vehicles loaded with polythene bags to the city. Ranjana said she had issued directions to sector magistrates under her zone to carry out the drive today. Rawat said he would begin issuing challans to the violators from tomorrow onwards. On the other hand, shopkeepers and vegetable sellers were openly making use of polythene bags today. Customers were also carrying things in polythene bags. They feigned ignorance about such a ban in the city.
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BJP leaders burn govt's effigy
Dehradun, March 15 City party leaders raised slogans against the "misrule" of the Vijay Bahuguna-led state government and accused it of ignoring scams and illegal land deals. “The government has been favouring builders and business houses and selling them land at cheap rates, which is against the interest of the state,” said Neelam Sehgal, president of the city unit of the party. Party workers also burnt an effigy of the state government.
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Regular movement of elephants in residential colonies
Haridwar, March 15 Change in the climatic conditions have forced the jumbos to move out of the forest cover in search of water in the residential habitat of BHEL, Tibdi, Bilkeshwar and Chilla-Shyampur stretch. Particularly in the evening, one can see the elephants going towards water ponds or small rivulets to quench their thirst. For the past week, the movement has been noticed at BHEL hospital-Tibdi stretch .As per nearby residents and BHEL employees, herds of elephants have been coming from Rajaji National Park forest terrain that lies just adjacent to the colony. This has instilled fear among the residents who are quite hesitant to venture out in the morning and dusk, as many a time the elephants create havoc, destroying crops. For wildlife lovers and tourists, it is a boon as elephants can be easily spotted. Villages of Missirpur, Jagjeetpur, Katarpur, Panjan Hedi and Jeopata are also reported to be facing regular elephant intrusion of late. Noted Wildlife scientist Ritesh Joshi attributed the movement to a change in climatic conditions which, he said, will further increase in the coming days. Specially during forest fires, the elephants will be forced to come out of the dense forest areas to the residential colonies to get reprieve from summer and fire. He added further that it had now become common for the elephants to move around freely in these areas. He warned people not to get close to them as many times it has been seen that elephants get irritated and cause damage to life and property. Forest officials said that they had been carrying out routine patrolling in the colonies and stretches where the animals had been spotted. Elephants like bamboos, which make them enter bamboo fields, adjacent to the forest terrain. “Firing in the air to disperse elephants, or creating loud sounds are the usual methods used by our employees. Making walls and digging the earth is also done at various points to ensure they don’t easily intrude into residential colonies,” said D. Sanatan, divisional forest official.
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Admission to medical courses on NEET basis
Dehradun, March 15 The NEET scorecard will be valid for seeking admission to all government and private medical and dental colleges. Similarly, the NEET score of postgraduate medical will also be valid for seeking admission to all postgraduate courses. Earlier, the admission to the graduate and postgraduate courses was done on the basis of the Uttarakhand Pre-Medical Test. The officials of the Department of Medical Education say the NEET will help in streamlining the admission process. “Our past experience of conducting entrance exams has not been satisfactory. There were reports of the question papers being leaked hours before the examination and instances of fraudulent people taking and clearing the examination,” he said.
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Public display of leopard's body to be probed
Dehradun, March 15 Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand, Dr RBS Rawat said the public display of the carcass of the leopard was deplorable and the matter would be probed. He added the incident violated the wildlife laws. A leopard that had
killed a number of persons in the Gairsain area of Chamoli was shot dead by hunter Lakhpat Singh Rawat on Wednesday.
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NSS camp under way at Shantikunj
Haridwar, March 15 Various activities are being held for the second year students of BA and B.Com. NSS programme officer Sushma Nayal said today more than 80 students were attending the camp. Besides, a cricket tournament was also being organised today in which SMJN Warriors defeated SMJN Devils by 31 runs. Mohammad Inam was the highest scorer with 47 runs. In the second match, SMJN Challenger defeated SMJN Chargers by 5 wickets. Ankush Kumar was declared the player of the match.
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Blend of science, technology can improve quality of life, says Ucost DG
Dehradun, March 15 Chief guest, Director General, Ucost, Rajendera Dobhal, said that blending of science and society was the motto of the council. He said the aim of popularising science and technology was to improve the quality of life of common man and develop Uttarakhand state with a society full of scientific awareness. Convener of the workshop Brij Mohan Sharma said that looking at the situation in Uttarakhand, which has a varied range of climatic conditions, ranging from alpine to temperate to subtropical conditions, such workshops are beneficial for agriculturists. He said to attain and maintain better production and productivity standards of agriculture, it was imperative to have a systematic soil health management. In the technical session, soil scientist Hari Raj Singh delivered a lecture on 'Basics of Soils - Why do we need soil testing and its sampling.' He explained the genesis and formation of soil, especially under the rugged terrain condition of the Himalayas. The importance of texture of soil and its meaning towards its fertility levels and nutritional supplying capacity was explained to the farmers. ABP Mishra, senior scientist of the Department of Science and Technology, said the basic objective of the workshop was to develop the awareness material on soil testing and management and train and equip the masses. A book entitled 'Mitti ke Sidhant aur Prabandhan' by Hariraj Singh and Brij Mohan Sharma was also released by Rajender Dobhal on the occasion. Earlier, Baba Farid Institute of Technology Chairman JS Arora welcomed all the dignitaries and participants. This workshop is supported by Department of Science and Technology, Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology. Students from different colleges and universities are participating in the workshop.
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Appointment of anti-poaching officers sought
Dehradun, March 15 A meeting of wildlife conservation NGOs was held here yesterday where the speakers unanimously sought these appointments. The NGOs were of the opinion that by appointing such honorary wildlife wardens, the dearth of staff in the Forest Department could be compensated and would also boost wildlife awareness in the state. The issue of shortage of veterinarians was also taken up at the meeting. The speakers alleged that in the absence of vets, the postmortems were not being performed as per regulation and storage of viscera for forensic examination was not being done effectively. Better cages for wild animals, particularly leopards, multi-prolonged approach to deal with monkey menace, prompt action against illegal trapping of birds and region-specific wildlife issues also came up for discussion at the meeting.
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An anti-polythene drive could not be launched today as the district administration remained occupied with the Budget
session.
