Dehradun, June 7
There seems to be no end to infighting in the state unit of the Congress with senior party leaders taking potshots at each other.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has also failed to placate disgruntled party legislators belonging to the Union Minister Harish Rawat camp, who have raised a banner of revolt against the Chief Minister.

Congress MLA from Dharchula Harish Dhami, who was recently released from judicial custody in a criminal case, has launched a tirade against the Chief Minister alleging that the government had utterly failed to start any development scheme in his Assembly segment. He got support from another party legislator, Himesh Kharkwal, also belonging to the Harish Rawat faction.

On the other hand, state Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, who had been criticising the state government in the past, said the problems of party legislators should be seriously looked into.

Harish Dhami has threatened to resign and dared the Chief Minister to contest against him.

Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat also came to Dehradun and met a large number of his supporters at Congress Bhavan here last evening. He also took potshots at the Chief Minister when he was asked about the Chief Minister's comment that he was a tiger.

Harish Rawat jokingly said he was a stag who had been roaming in the hills of Uttarakhand for the past 40 years, but the Chief Minister was definitely a tiger, who pounces upon its prey.

However, Bahuguna remained tightlipped about the tirade launched by his party legislators.

He told mediapersons in New Delhi yesterday that he had talked to Union minister Harish Rawat who would talk to these disgruntled legislators.

He also admitted that out of the 41 legislators supporting the state government, only five or six are dissatisfied.

Dehradun, June 7
The Uttarakhand Government today sanctioned Rs 201 crore to settle the arrears of sugarcane growers in the state.

Out of the Rs 201 crore, Rs 100 crore has been released with immediate effect. Sugar millers owe Rs 138 crore as arrear to farmers.

Like the previous year, for such a pendency, Uttarakhand would borrow the amount from SIDCUL.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna emphasised on the modernisation of sugar mills and investment on planting high-yield varieties of sugarcanes. To increase revenue collection, the government announced allowing of 80 per cent of the sale of molasses in the open government and only 20 per cent allotment to the domestic sugar industry.

The Chief Minister said the government would soon start work on 36 small power projects and invite transparent bidding for these projects.

He said transmission and distribution losses due to theft under control had been considerably reduced. “In 2003-2004, it was 53 per cent and in 2013-2014, it has been brought to 19 per cent. I have asked officials to ensure that it is brought to 15 per cent so that the Rs 600-crore loan is converted into grant under the Central Government’s scheme,” he said.

Commenting on the status of power projects in the state, the Chief Minister said by August, the government would get approval for the Vyasi second phase project and it would be completed by 2017.

Similarly, techno economic clearance and central electricity authority clearance for the 300 MW Bowla Nand Prayag Hydroelectric Project is expected to be received by August and work would start by June 2014. An MoU has also been sent to the HP government for the 660 MW Kisau Dam project.

Clearances are also expected for the Lakhwar power project by September 2014. Further, the capacity enhancement on the second phase of the Maneri Bhali power project (to the extent of 34 MW) would be completed by March 2015.

The Chief Minister said to ease bottlenecks on the Dehradun-Delhi route at Daat Kali Mandir, another tunnel would be built for which permission has been granted. “During the current financial year, Rs 1,500 crore will be spent on the construction of roads under the PWD and the Prime Minister Gramin Sadak. Besides, the department concerned has been asked to speed up construction work on the proposed flyovers at Baliwala, Jogiwala and the ISBT,” he said.

Dehradun, June 7
Both Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) and Power Transmission Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (PTCUL) are giving different versions for the one and half hour power breakdown last night. The power supply could only be restored by 9.45 pm.

Director (Commercial), UPCL, Anil Kumar confirmed that the power supply was normal today and the corporation did not make any extra power purchase from outside due to less demand owing to good weather.

UPCL officials said the power supply was disrupted last night as the state grid failed while PTCUL officials denied it saying the supply was disrupted in and around Dehradun and some parts of Kumaon due to bad weather. However, it was restored in about one and a half hour. The soured relation between the UPCL and the PTCUL came to the fore due to the power disruption last night.

According to sources in the UPCL, two power lines of 400 KV each (Muzaffarnagar-Puhana and Muradabad-Kashipur) tripped due to bad weather. These lines connected to the Uttar Pradesh grid collapsed first. The PTCUL officials sitting in the control room could not discover the cause of the breakdown of the two lines. Due to excessive load the power lines of the PTCUL also tripped, leading to the state grid failure.

Managing Director, UPCL, AK Johri said the situation was precipitated by bad weather, which led to tripping of the power lines. He assured the people that there was no threat to the state power grid and it wouldn’t collapse.

Managing Director, PTCUL, SS Yadav denied that the power disruption occurred due to the failure of the state grid. He said, “The facts are being distorted to show the PTCUL in a poor light. The power lines tripped due to a storm and heavy rain. It was not unusual this time as well. Since two power lines of Uttar Pradesh through which the PTCUL is drawing power tripped, Uttarakhand got isolated. It had to depend on its own power generation. The power generators too stopped working due to excessive load. However, the power breakdown, which spread to the Kumaon area, was restored within 20 minutes, while in Dehradun and surrounding areas it took one and a half hour.”

He tried to justify his viewpoint saying that had it been the grid failure, it would have taken at least the entire night to restore the power supply.

The UPCL, however, blamed the outdated remote terminal units in the PTCUL power control room for their failure to give an exact picture of the power situation. It claimed that the state depended on Uttar Pradesh to gather information about the central grid status.

Yadav refuted the charge saying that the PTCUL had modern gadgets. He said one state had to depend on other states for power as it was a matter of networking. He pulled up the UPCL saying that though their transformers too burst and the power supply snapped but he never painted a bad picture of the corporation before the public.

Dehradun, June 7
A joint team of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), district administration, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and the PWD today carried out a massive drive against the encroachment on footpaths/pavements on the long stretch of Gandhi Road and Saharanpur Road.

The drive began from Darshan Lal Chowk and proceeded towards Prince Chowk, Saharnpur Chowk and culminated at the ISBT.

The team returned with four trucks loaded with seized goods. Notices were also sent to the shopkeepers who had encroached upon footpaths. The team began the drive in response to the directions of the Nainital High Court to remove encroachment from footpaths of the city.

Officials, who led the team, included Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harshvardhan Mishra, Sahayak Nagar Adhikari Vichitar Singh, Additional District Magistrate Harak Singh Rawat along with Circle Officer Traffic Harbans Singh, Circle Officer Kotwali Harish Chand Sati and officials of the MDDA and PWD.

The team faced fierce opposition from the shopkeepers in the Innamulla building. The shopkeepers protested when the PWD employees began dismantling the cemented covering made on small drains outside the shops. The shopkeepers alleged that they had built the platform to stop the flow of water inside the shops, during rains. The tempers ran high when a Station Police Officer slapped a couple of boys who were creating ruckus on the issue.

A group of shopkeepers also laid down on the road and created traffic jam. The police, however, managed to control the situation.

However, The Additional District Magistrate informed the protesting shopkeepers that they were abiding by the directions of the Hight Court.

Officers and jawans at the memorial

Dehradun, June 7
A remembrance ceremony was held at the War Memorial of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) to pay respect and homage to the brave alumni of the academy, who had sacrificed their lives keeping in with the tradition of patriotism and sacrifice. Lt-Gen Manvender Singh, AVSM, VSM, Commandant, Indian Military Academy, along with next of kin of martyrs, all the officers, their families, gentleman cadets and their parents laid the wreath.

The ceremony culminated with the presentation of mementos to the families of the martyrs who had also passed through the portals of the IMA. Four young officers, who attained martyrdom in the last six months while serving at different places and braving forces inimical to the freedom and democracy of the country, were deeply remembered on the solemn occasion.

Dehradun, June 7
The week-long workshop on energy efficient lights organised by the Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS) for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of Uttarakhand concluded in Chamoli district today.

Addressing the valedictory session at Himad Education Centre in Chamoli, SPECS founder president Dr Brij Mohan Sharma disclosed that the main aim of the project was to train the SC and ST population to make energy efficient lights. “The objective is to transfer the technology along with the concept of energy efficiency to these deprived communities apart from spreading science and technology awareness,” he said.

Sharma asserted that electrical energy played a vital role in the day-to-day activity. He said many SC and ST dominated villages in the hills were still deprived of basic amenities and asserted that such workshops were an effort to provide them the benefits of energy.

Himad Education Centre’s director Dr DS Pundeer said the Light Emitting Diode (LED) was one such form of technology that had many advantages over the conventional technologies, including the CFL. “The LED is an energy conservation technique that saves approximately 80 per cent energy used and also helps in conservation of the environment,” Pundeer pointed out. This technology is evolving worldwide as a substitute for other existing technologies.

This workshop was inaugurated by Dr Ujjwala T Tirkey, senior scientist, National Council for Science and Technology Communication, Department of Science And Technology on June 1.

Tirkey hoped that the works would help in spreading awareness and equip the SC and ST communities for development of scientific temperament for improving their quality of life.

People from 11 villages, including Sonla, Masauli, Maikot, Girsa,Hadkoti, and Mandal, participated in the workshop.

Dehradun, June 7
Doon Hospital seems to be the preferred choice for pharmacy students who are keen to undergo internship. Students undergoing training in the hills are making a beeline to the hospital even though it has just 24 seats.

The students' rush is proving to be a headache for the pharmacy in charge of the hospital who continues to receive applications for internship from far off places.

“Though according to the norms of the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), the internship seekers can undergo training at all the district hospitals in the state, but surprisingly students who were studying in Gopeshwar, Uttarkashi and other places where district hospitals are located have come all the way to Dehradun to undergo training,” SS Chauhan, pharmacy officer, said.

He said: “The students undergo 500 hours training during the internship which comes to around three months during which they learn about different salts and other aspects of disbursing medicines. As of now the Doon Hospital has received around 78 applications, but according to the availability of the seats, training to only 24 interns can be imparted during the period of three months.”

“Most of the pharmacists working in the Doon Hospital underwent internship in the periphery or in the district hospitals as these were less crowded and the pharmacists could give us the attention that a fresher required to hone his skills. But, all these students have been brainwashed into coming to Dehradun and the Doon Hospital which is always overcrowded. The students are being provided proper information due to which they are all coming to Dehradun,” said Chauhan.

He said the internship was granted on first-cum-first served basis at the hospital but in order to ensure a level playing field the seats were distributed in such a manner that all the seats did not go to a particular institute. During the internship the interns are not paid any stipend. They are provided training in different departments including the X-ray room, the TB clinic and other departments.

Dehradun, June 7
Himalayan Cricket Academy and Sunrise Cricket Club won their respective matches in the second Rattan Chand Memorial Cricket Tournament played at the Survey Stadium here today.

In the first match, Himalayan Cricket Academy defeated United Scholars by 43 runs. Batting first, the Himalayan team scored 153 runs for eight wickets in 20 overs. Sristhi and Vijay scored 45 runs each, respectively. Shubham, Rajender and Rajat took two wickets each.

In reply, United Scholars was all out for 110 runs, losing the match by 43 runs. Anshuman remained the top scorer with 26 runs. Digar and Abhishek took two wickets each.

In the second match, Sunrise Cricket Club beat Doon Defence Academy by six wickets. Batting first after winning the toss, Doon Defence Academy scored 92 runs. Opener Subhan was the top scorer with 25 runs. Sagar took three wickets for 15 runs. In reply, Sunrise Cricket Club scored 96 runs for the loss of four wickets to win the match. Opener Sanjay remained unbeaten on 56 runs. Ayush took two wickets for 20 runs.