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Nov 9, 2000, cut-off date for caste certificates
Cong welcomes govt decision
UKD, URM flay move; BSP, SP speak in support
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Beneficiary must be permanent resident of state for 15 years
Iceland sees great scope for power, tourism in state
UKD activists burn CM’s effigy
Mulayam is with Cong, says Salman Khursheed
Woodstock School dominates Corbett marathon races
Champawat youth migrating to big cities for jobs
Residents demand mobile phone services in Dharchula
Rs 53.83 crore plan for Pithoragarh
Children march on Mall Road
on World Autism Day
Students captivate with musical adaptation
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Nov 9, 2000, cut-off date for caste certificates
Dehradun, April 2 The provision has been included to prevent large scale misuse of the certificates, as in the past incidents were reported where members had shown themselves residents of Uttarakhand while they were already residents of Uttar Pradesh in order to participate in the medical entrance examinations. “In the last couple of years this practice has been rampant in the plain districts of the state. To curb this practice, we have ensured the person submit affidavits to state clearly that he nor his family members have taken permanent residency of another state,” said Principal Secretary S. Raju, Department of Social Welfare. Further, only the term permanent resident would be used and terms such as resides, residence, domicile and original resident would not be used while considering the cases for issuing caste certificates. Further caste certificates would be issued to members of SC and ST communities whose castes figure in the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2000 (Schedule V for SCs and Schedule VI for STs).
Cong welcomes govt decision
Dehradun, April 2 Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of the state Congress, while addressing a press conference here today, said more than 40 per cent of the population of the state would benefit from the decision. He denied the charge that the people in the hill region would suffer due to the government order. “This is a mischievous propaganda without any basis. None will be adversely affected and the decision will rather benefit more than 40 per cent of the population,” he said. On the civic bodies’ elections in the state, Dhasmana said the Congress was fully prepared for the challenge. “The party observers for various districts are touring their areas and they will submit their reports by April 5 after meeting party workers to help the party to finalise the names of the candidates,” he said.
UKD, URM flay move; BSP, SP speak in support
Dehradun, April 2 President of Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha TPS Rawat flayed Chief Minister Vijay Bahugna by saying: “Vijay Bahuguna has defied the apex court judgment, which is followed throughout the country on these issues. According to this, those who live in a particular state prior to 1950 are considered permanent residents of that state. Bahuguna government wants to avail the benefit of this popular measure in the civic polls. He is not bothered about the welfare of those people who had been living in the state for many generations.” The UKD has also flayed the decision on the same ground. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has welcomed the government order. Uttarakhand in charge Aslam Khan said he himself had been pursuing this matter and also met Chief Minister in this regard. “This is a much awaited and much delayed decision, which state Congress has taken at this moment. But it will certainly provide relief to lakhs of those who fought for the state formation but were now being deprived the right of the permanent residence. They also lost moorings in Uttar Pradesh from where they came to settle in Uttarakhand long ago.” Left parties have also appreciated the decision. Senior leader, Communist Party of India, Samar Bhandari, said: “The poor people who had been divested of the benefits of caste reservation would now be able to avail them for education, employment , loan etc after the issuance of this GO.” State president of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Meghraj Jaraware, has also backed up the government order saying: “The BSP, which has always supported the concept of Sarv Samaj, wanted people of all the communities living in Uttarakhand state to get the status of permanent residence. These people worked hard in the struggle of state creation and development process thereon. The government order is indeed a welcome gesture of Congress government for people of all the communities in the state.” Uttarakhand Sankuykt Sarv Samaj Sangthan, an organisation comprising of several communities, had been fighting for the rights of caste as well as permanent residence vociferously. President of this organisation Kunwar Jupinder Singh, however, castigated Congress government for keeping the content of government order ambiguous. He said: “This government order was released in a hurry to churn benefits in the civic polls because Congress was sure of getting a drubbing on account of these issues. But even in the government order, the government had not incorporated everyone living in the state. It has also not mentioned that all the fundamental and constitutional rights would be given to these people in the state. There is so much confusion and much to be desired for in the government order.”
Beneficiary must be permanent resident of state for 15 years
Dehradun, April 2 So far the Uttarakhand government had refrained from issuing the certificates even though the Single Bench of the Uttarakhand High Court, while deciding on a writ petition filed by Ajay Kumar and others versus state of Uttarakhand, directed that the cut-off date for issuing the caste certificates for the members belonging to the SC/ST communities be taken as November 9, 2000. Now with the civic bodies elections staring in the face, the government decided to act and today issued a government order indicating that November 9, 2000, would be the cut-off date for issuing the caste certificates, but it would be issued to those who had been permanent residents of the state for the past 15 years. “The term of reference for permanent residents will mean that such persons should have been residing in the state since 1985, ie for the last 15 years. In 2013, the period comes to more than 27 years,” said Alok Kumar Jain, Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand, addressing a press conference today. Among the various parameters considered for conferring permanent residency include possession of a parental house though the person may have been residing out of the state due to the nature of work. “As the Uttarkhand government had not issued any government order and was following the directives that were issued when it was part of Uttar Pradesh, the cut-off date for considering the permanent residency was 1950 which was challenged in the Nainital High Court,” said Jain. The Uttarakhand government has issued the government order as most of the candidates will be requiring these certificates at the time of the civic bodies elections. However, this decision would be subject to final order of the court as an appeal by Trivender Singh Panwar and Ravinder Jugran is pending with the division bench of the Nainital High Court.
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Iceland sees great scope for power, tourism in state
Dehradun, April 2 Dr Grimsson said scientific and other institutions located in the Himalayan region should develop coordination among themselves. Both leaders agreed that Iceland and Uttarakhand could work together in the field of hydropower. The Chief Minister said the two could also work together on developing new ideas in the sphere of alternate energy. The Chief Minister said global efforts could save the environment. He said in developing countries, it was the responsibility of governments to make available basic facilities to people. Thus, he said the developed nations could work more in the direction of environment conservation. The Chief Minister said Uttarakhand had the potential of producing 27,000 MW of hydropower. The state government had also taken the initiative of producing power from pine needles. He said the state had made significant contribution in protecting forests and wildlife. Bahuguna presented Dr Grimsson with a souvenir and books related to the Corbett National Park. He invited him to visit Uttarakhand again. |
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UKD activists burn CM’s effigy
Dehradun April 2 They also raised slogans demanding the cut-off date for permanent residence certificate to be 1950. Thereafter, a meeting took place in the party office to discuss this issue. Party general secretary Shanti Bhatt said, “This govenment order has been issued shortly before the enforcement of model code of conduct in the state in view of the civic poll. It clearly indicates that Chief Minister Vijay Bhauguna wants to take the advantage of this GO in the civil bodies’ election.” He further said their party had filed a petition before the Double Bench against the judgment of the Single Bench of the high court. Issuing the government order without waiting for the verdict of the Double Bench meant contempt of court, he said. He flayed Bahuguna saying that it did not behove on his part not to honour court of law as he had also served as a judge before getting into politics. The party has also decided to submit a memorandum to the District Magistrate tomorrow which will be addressed to the Chief Minister, Vijay Bahuguna, in this matter. |
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Mulayam is with Cong, says Salman Khursheed
Pithoragarh, April 2 “The Congress has nothing to do with CBI inquiry against Mulayam Singh Yadav. The party cannot do anything about it, but it is clear that Yadav is with the Congress,” said Khursheed. Answering queries of journalists, who had reached his residence to meet him, the Foreign Minister said to get the nation out of the menace of malnutrition, the country has launched many programmes which aimed at rooting out malnutrition from the country. The Foreign Minister emphasised on call centres and NGOs to remove unemployment from the state. The minister, who has reached here with his wife Louis Khursheed, plans to breed angora rabbits at Mukteshwar as scientists have termed the place suitable for the breeding of angora rabbits. “We have brought 17 pairs of angoora rabbits at first, which will be increased later and local youths will be linked with the projects,” said Louis Khursheed. |
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Woodstock School dominates Corbett marathon races
Mussoorie, April 2 According to a press note released by the school, the races were held in 42 km, 10 km and 5 km categories. Head of Physical Education Department Steve Luukkonen, exorcised the ghosts of last year’s race which he was forced to drop out last year due to extensive heat by winning the 42-km race in a fantastic time of 3:16:24 this year. The half marathon section was also won by a Woodstock runner, grade 12 student Bendix Kemmann, in 1:29:18. This was better than last year for Bendix when he finished third. French teacher Dane Latimer finished in the seventh place overall in the half marathon, while two staff members and three other students also completed the 21K run in creditable time. In the 10 km race, English teacher Melanie Reichwald was the first female runner home and fourth overall, while six other Woodstock runners finished in the top 20. Band teacher Lindsay Boyd was the first woman home and second overall in the 5 km race. The group of 20 from Woodstock School enjoyed a safari on Friday, seeing elephants, deer, peacocks and myriad other birds in Corbett National Park, and also had a refreshing dip in a nearby river following the races on Saturday before the train journey back to the school. The physical education instructor and the winner of the full marathon Steve Luukkonen on his return and after winning the race said that in the last four years at Woodstock, running had really gained momentum in the lives of both students and staff. "Corbett was a proof of not only how many passionate runners we are seeing, but their determination of doing the best they can! Running is one of the most competitive-friendly sports around! Yes you compete against others, but you mostly compete against yourself, which opens up the opportunity to cheer and inspire other runners as they pass by or even start conversations with those around the same pace as you. "Overall, Corbett was an experience enjoyed by all, and everyone was saying how excited they are to push themselves for the next race. Intrinsic motivation is one of the hardest qualities to possess, and I have found running to be the best sport to really push you intrinsically. This group of 20 Woodstock staff and students showed amazing enthusiasm and I cannot wait for the next race to see Woodstock shine once again, and would love to see more runners take part,'' added Steve. Communications executive Ed Beavan opined that it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and there was great atmosphere during the races with lots of encouragement from all around. “It was a very scenic and peaceful course to run. Its fair to say we dominated the various sections, and had there been a team competition, we would have done very well. I really hope we can go back with more runners next year," added Ed.Conditions for this year's event were far cooler than last year, which was a great relief to all the runners.
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Champawat youth migrating to big cities for jobs
Pithoragarh, April 2 “The district has only a mini industrial estate near Chatar, which has not more than 6 mini industries employing not more than five or six persons in each industry,” said YS Rawat, district employment exchange officer at Champawat. According to the employment exchange office sources, whereas the number of registered unemployed persons in the district was 14,533, in the month of March last year it increased to 19,315. ''This list of unemployed persons does not include those youths who have migrated to the plains in search of jobs,” said the officer. “Even the unemployment allowance announced by the state government last year was available to only 84,” said the officer. According to sources, the only source of employment for these registered unemployed is campus selection by various SIDCUL companies, which need unskilled or semi skilled workers. ''Till date, we have given employment to 104 unemployed youth through this campus selection,'' said the officer. According to sources, the potential of jobs in agriculture and rural traditional industries has sharply decreased in the district in the last decade. |
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Residents demand mobile phone services in Dharchula
Pithoragarh, April 2 The demonstrators later held a meeting at the District Collector’s office. They said at the meeting that Jauljibi town was also facing communication problems as mobile phone towers had not been installed there. “The installation of telecommunication towers at Jauljibi town has been deferred for many years on the pretext of security reasons or the presence of the Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary in the area. This has forced the residents on this town border to go to Nepal to communicate with their relatives and dear ones in India,” said Chandani Gunjiyal, a resident of Jauljibi town who took part in the protest. The speakers said while the Government of India provided communication facilities to Kailas Mansarowar pilgrims by installing makeshift instruments, permanent residents of the town were being deprived of the facility citing security reasons. “While other border towns have been provided the mobile phone services, we are being discriminated against by the government,” said Jeewan Thakur, organiser of the demonstration. |
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Rs 53.83 crore plan for Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh, April 2 Addressing plan committee members at the district planning office, the minister emphasised on giving priority to essential projects in the district for the current year’s planning and said the officer ought to give priority to benefit-oriented projects in district. The minister instructed the officers that they should keep an eye on the plan projects and monitor these continuously. “The half-completed projects are given priority in completion to get its benefits to the people,” said the minister. Rural electrification, restarting of closed Hydram pump irrigation projects, cleaning of drainages inside the town before the rains and hot mixing of district headquarters roads will be given priority in the district plan, according to the instruction given by the minister. The district plan was approved in the presence of three MLAs from the district, Didihat MLA Bishan Singh Chufal, Gangolihat MLA Narayan Ram and Dharchula MLA Harish Dhami, besides the district level officers, including Chief Development Officer Raghav Langhar and District Magistrate Chandra Mohan Singh
Bisht. |
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Children march on Mall Road
on World Autism Day
Mussoorie, April 2 The students carrying placards, posters and pamphlets, informed the residents and tourists alike about the disease and ways to deal with it in a meeting held at Tilak Memorial Library here. Aparna Das, head of Arunima, an organisation involved in caring for the children suffering from autism, said that autism was known as a complex developmental disability. The disease presented itself during the first three years of a person's life and the condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person's communication and social interaction skills. ''The people with autism have issues with non-verbal communication, a wide range of social interactions, and activities that include an element of play or banter,'' added Aparna Das. She further said that experts estimate that every 2-6 children out of every 1000 have autism. The prevalence rate of autism in India is 1 in 250 (figure may vary as many cases are not diagnosed) and currently 10 million people are suffering in India. Aparna Das further opined autism was curable using various therapies such as tran cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and dietary therapy. She also said that society also should come forward to help in reducing the suffering among the people suffering from autism. Sunita, Sarona, Reena, Ranjna, Priyanka, Ranjna, Narendar and others were present on the occasion. |
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Students captivate with musical adaptation
Mussoorie, April 2 The musical scene is set in ancient China and sees heroine Mulan (Isabella Shaw of grade 8) dress up as a boy and join the army in order to protect her family’s honour and fight against the invading Huns. There she meets army commander Shang (Rishi Thomas of grade 9), who joins in trying to save the Chinese dynasty, accompanied throughout by their mascot, dragon Mushu, played with much hilarity in a show-stealing performance by grade 7 student Aryan Shankardas. Showcasing the singing talent of the cast, the musical item included superb choreography, including sword-fighting scenes, as characters sported fantastic costumes on an artistically-designed set. The show was directed by Woodstock’s Director of enrichment and drama Bethany Okie, the latest in a long line of outstanding plays directed by her at the school. Kabir Mehta of grade 9 mesmerised the audience with his cross-dressing role as Qian-Po and Jonah Kaplan of grade 8 for his ferocious portrayal of the evil Hun leader, Shan-yu. The principal of the school commended the efforts of the staff and the students in making the play a grand success.
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Dehradun, April 2
In view of the High Court directive, the Uttarakhand government has now decided to issue caste certificates since November 9, 2000 to members of the SC, the ST and the OBC communities who had been permanent residents for 15 years of the state .
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna met Iceland President Dr Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and held discussions regarding environment conservation here today.
Dr Grimsson said Uttarakhand was blessed with natural beauty and had a great scope for power generation and tourism. Inviting Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to Iceland, he said he would visit Uttarakhand with his officials next time and explore the possibilities of collaborations between Uttarakhand and Iceland in the spheres of hydropower and tourism.
Uttarakhand Planning Minister and in charge of Pithoragarh district plan committee Dinesh Aggrawal today approved Rs 53.83 crore district plan for the district for 2013-14.
