Mussoorie, August 9
The project to discuss landscape and revitalisation plans for Mall Road under the aegis of Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) was unveiled in a meeting held in Mussoorie late yesterday.

The meeting was chaired by R.Meenakshi Sundaram, MDDA VC, with additional charge of DM, Dehradun, and was attended by various stakeholders and public dignitaries, namely MLA, Mussoorie, Ganesh Joshi, former MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, MC president Manmohan Singh Mall, former MC president OP Uniyal and the officials from the Traders and 
Hotels' Association.

Chief architect from MDDA Ashish Srivastava outlined his vision for beautification of Mall Road in consideration with the glorious history and heritage of the town.

He also solicited the cooperation of all the stakeholders as without their help it was not possible to revitalise and develop the town in accordance to the aspirations of the people.

Ashish Srivastava also shared his experience of Hazratganj in Lucknow which was in a shambles before he started the work there but the landscape was changed for the better completely with the cooperation of the residents and the administration. He said he would like to restore the British architecture and beautify of the town in such a way that it is pleasing to the eyes of the tourist and residents alike.

He, however, said that the revitalisation project would succeed only when there is coordination among all the stakeholders of the town.

However, the public dignitaries were skeptic about the whole project presented here. MLA, Mussoorie, Ganesh Joshi, stated that the administration should try to provide the basic amenities such as parking spaces, housing and a separate zone for the street vendors. Then only any such beautification project could succeed in the town. He also said that the town was reeling under acute water crisis and without making provision for ample water supply, the sewerage project being implemented under JNNURM would result in utter failure. Therefore, before envisaging any such project all aspects should be looked into in detail to determine success.

Ganesh Joshi also said that a project of augmenting water storage capacity of the town at Kandi Ghat in order to address the water crisis being faced by the town was proposed by him but the government had shown no interest so far. He further said that the nonchalant attitude of the government could lead to another economic crisis, making all the exercise of revitalising the town a futile one.

Many stakeholders aired their concern about the rampant encroachment of the public buildings such as Hawaghars and the pathways all along the Mall Road and said till the encroachment problem was not addressed, the whole exercise would prove meaningless. However, the MC president Manmohan Singh Mall remained silent during the meeting and did not make any remark in the ongoing discussion here.

Later speaking to media he said that the stakeholders should first wait for the project to begin as it was a positive step in the right direction and instead of creating bottlenecks, should try to remove them through constructive suggestions. He also said that many projects were shelved with the change in the guard at the top level.

The Mussoorie Traders' Association president Rajat Agarwal speaking on the occasion said that that the project if implemented properly could benefit the town immensely but the need was that all the concerned departments should contribute sincerely.

Governor greets people

DEHRADUN: Governor Aziz Qureshi greeted people of the state on of Eid-ul-Fitr. He said Eid is a festival of love, joy and brotherhood and said everyone should resolve to create an atmosphere of harmony in society and work to destroy the evil designs of divisive forces.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, along with his family, Tehri MP Mala Rajyalakshmi Shah, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, former Chief Secretary Alok Jain, DGP Satyavrat Bansal, District Magistrate Dehradun R Meenakshi Sundaram, other senior officials, industrialist and social worker Dr S Farooq greeted the Governor on Eid.

Dehradun, August 9
At a time when Internet has revolutionised the government-citizen interface across the country, Dehradun police still does not have its own website when almost all the police departments of major cities in the country have their own websites. It is not that Dehradun police never had its own website to share information with the people of the district. In 2007, then Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amit Sinha started a website, www.dehradunpolice.com, which remained online for more than a year. 

However, the website got out of the cyber space once the SSP got transferred. Later, another Dehradun SSP, GS Martolia, tried to revive the website but the initiative could not become a reality. ''I started Dehradun police website, which had all information related to the Dehradun police, details of ongoing cases and the new initiatives of the police. It was functioning perfectly during my tenure and I cannot say much about what had happened to the website once I got transferred from Dehradun,'' Amit Sinha, the then SSP and present DIG, Garhwal Range, told TNS.

It is to be noted that e-challaning was also started in 2007 and was synced with the website of the Dehradun police through which people could access the status of their challan through the website. E-challaning also proved to be a short affair for the Dehradun police due to the non-payment of bills of the BSNL lease line, which was used for e-challaning system. Sinha also said:''Every SSP has different priorities for the district and his/her style of functioning is different from his/her predecessor.'' He accepted the fact that an informative website was essential for any department that dealt with the public. It must be mentioned here that there is no Internet portal available where all the information about the district police and its officials can be accessed. It was found that the SSP, Dehradun, was on leave and other district police officials were not willing to speak on the issue.

Rishikesh, August 9
Students of Parmarth Niketan Gurukul, Swargashram, in collaboration with the Ganga Action Family and Shri Devi Sampad Adhyatma Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya, carried out a cleanliness drive here today.

Students and nearly 150 volunteers removed garbage, bushes and polythene bags from the railway station and its nearby areas. Rishikesh Municipal Committee chairperson Deep Sharma has lauded their efforts in this regard. The MC also provided garbage disposal trucks to them.

Manager of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram Ram Anant Tiwari said it was very important for the youngsters to know the value of cleanliness and social service.

MC sanitation employees also sprayed limestone powder and insecticides near the the railway station.

Later, the students and volunteers cleaned a local park at Veerpur Khurd.

Parmarth office-bearer Ram Mahesh Mishra said a similar drive would be carried out at the Muni-ki-Reti nagar panchayat and the Swargashram Jaunk nagar panchayat, which falls in Pauri Garhwal district. Students and volunteers were divided into 12 groups.

Dehradun, August 9
Former aide of Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat was found dead here today. Yudhbir Singh Rawat (39), a former PRO of the minister, had been missing since Thursday evening. The Rajpur police today received information that a body was lying in front of the Anandmayi Ashram on Rajpur Road, which was later identified as that of Yudhbir Singh Rawat.

The police said the body bore serious injury marks, especially on the head. According to sources, Yudhbir was last seen on Thursday afternoon along with a woman, though the police has not confirmed it. A demand draft of Rs 5 lakh was also recovered from his pocket. Later, addressing mediapersons, Dehradun SSP Kewal Khurana said no arrest had been made in the case so far. They were investigating all possible angles and nothing could be said at present.

Investigating officer Sachin Pundir said the body had been kept in the mortuary of Doon Hospital and they were waiting for his family to arrive, so that the postmortem could be carried out. Yudhbir hailed from Rudraprayag. — TNS

Dehradun, August 9
The Uttarakhand Government is contemplating simplifying the process for implementation of land consolidation (Chakbandi) for farmers in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has said

“A three-member committee comprising Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management Yashpal Arya, Minister for Finance Indira Hridayesh and Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat has been constituted to look into the Land. They will take up suggestions from the MPs, MLAs and experts so that the process is simplified,” said the Chief Minister.

He said the matter would then be brought before the Cabinet for approval.

In Uttarakhand, the agriculture land is scattered and efforts have been made to implement voluntary land consolidation, but so far the response has been lukewarm.

During the tenure of former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, a farm policy was announced in which it was agreed to promote special agriculture zones (SAZ). Further to give a boost to chakbandi, it was announced that any village adopting the practice for his agriculture land voluntarily would fall under the SAZ.

At that time, Lakholi village in Pauri had adopted voluntary chakbandi and had become the first village to be declared an SAZ. Later, two more villages in Uttarkashi had adopted voluntary chakbandi.

In Uttarakhand, around 152 villages falling under Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar districts are under chakbandi. While Lakholi village in Pauri, Bees and Farsali villages in Uttarkashi have been notified under chakbandi.

“We want to simplify the procedure so that chakbandi becomes a norm in the hills. As most of the land is scattered, the villagers are facing difficulty in setting up polyhouses and orchards. The process would boost agriculture and horticulture activities,” said Minister for Agriculture Harak Singh Rawat.

When Uttarakhand became a state, a land consolidation advisory committee was formed under the initiative of Harak Singh Rawat, but it could not make much headway.

Dehradun, August 9
The Dehradun police has claimed to crack the case of loot that took place on Wednesday night near Rishinagar at Sahasthradhara road in Raipur Police Station area.

The police arrested Sunny, Ravi and Manish, recently, all residents of Rishinagar, Sahasthradhara road, near Nalapani Chowk. The police has also recovered Rs 83,955 in cash, one gold chain and one country made pistol from them.

It is to be noted here that unidentified miscreants looted one Navin Garg on gun point, resident of Kawali road, on Wednesday night at Rishinagar on Sahasthradhara road, when he was going for some work with more than Rs one lakh cash.

After the incident, SSP Dehradun formed a police team under SP Rural, Mamta Vohra, which started working on the leads provided by Navin Garg. On Thursday evening, the police team zeroed in on three persons and arrested them from Sahasthradhara road and recovered the looted money and other stuff from them.

"While interrogating them, accused Ravi told the police that Navin Garg, who is a financier, used to come daily to his brother-in-law for collecting interest money and he was aware that Navin always carry cash with him," said, Kewal Khuranna, SSP Dehradun.

He also said Ravi was the main mastermind and made the entire plan, while, Sunny and Manish joined him in committing the crime on his persuasion. The police has also claimed that Ravi and Sunny holds a criminal background.

Dehradun, August 9
Pratap Section continued its dominance over the overall championship by adding the Inter Section Hindi Debate Trophy to its kitty in Rashtriya Indian Military College annual debate competition today.

This term the competition was held in two categories, juniors and seniors. The topic for juniors was ''Samaj Mein Naitik Mulyo Ka Aabhav Hai.'' The debaters gave a good account of themselves and presented their views on the topic.

The individual standings were as follows: Cadet Abhay Mishra was adjudged best speaker, Cadet Naman Badoni as second best speaker and Cadet Suraj Kumar Verma third best speaker.

The topic for the seniors' category was ''Hamme Shashtro Se Nahi, Shastro Se Jitna Hoga.'' It was a keenly contested debate and saw the rise of new debaters who made a mark for themselves.

The individual standings were as follows: Best speaker Cadet Rahul Dwivedi, second best speaker Cadet Purnendu Kumar and Cadet Lalit Kumar was adjudged as third best speaker.

In the overall section standings, Pratap Section stood first followed by Ranjit Section, Chandragupta Section and Shivaji Section, which got second and third positions, respectively.

Chief guest Sudesh Byala, Principal, Cambrian Hall School, who was highly impressed by the debating standards of the cadets, motivated them to continue the same in future.

In his vote of thanks, Col HS Bainsla, Commandant, RIMC, thanked the chief guest and the judges.

Dehradun, August 9
Former CM BC Khanduri has said the ambush of five Indian jawans in the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir by the Pakistan army and terrorists had exposed the failure of the foreign policy of the UPA-led Congress government towards Pakistan.

He said the Pakistan army had crossed the LoC 67 times in the last six months while 93 such incidents of LoC violation took place last year. "Between 2010 and 2013 the Pakistani army has violated the LoC 188 times. The Pakistan army men had beheaded two jawans in March this year. Even at that time too the Pakistan army had said it was the handiwork of terrorists. This time too Pakistan is fielding a similar defence," he added.

He said, "What has come as a surprise is Defence Minister AK Antony’s statement. The Defence Minister seems to be on the side of Pakistan." —TNS

Dehradun, August 9
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar) has welcomed the Supreme Court verdict to limit the purchase of land upto 250 sq metre by outsiders in the state. He also hailed the decision to enforce chakbandi in the state.

Party spokesperson, Mnamohan Lakhera said, “It was due to the sale-purchase of land in the state, the cost of land has sky rocketed, which made it difficult for residents to build houses for themselves. The UKD had been demanding to bring an ordinance on this issue, but the state government preferred to ignore it. Now with the SC judgement on the issue, even poor people can think of having a house of their own in the state.”

He said, with the decision of the state government to enforce consolidation of land (chakbandi) system in the hill areas, the farmers would be relieved. He said, the farmers had to face a lot of difficulty in safeguarding their fields from wild animals. He suggested that the sub-committee set up by the state government on suggestions on the issue should have fixed tenure. 

Mussoorie, August 9
80 students from 16 schools participated in a greeting card painting contest held under the aegis of Rotary Club Mussoorie at Mussoorie Public School.

Vizer from Central School for Tibetans, Lorren Retton from Wynberg Allen and Kavita stood first, second and third respectively. Apart from this, seven other students - Nikhil Kumar from Oak Grove School, Ragini from Mussoorie International School,Shivam from Mussoorie Girls and Boys School, Gaurav Kaushal from Gururnanak Fifth Centenary School, Twinkle from Wynberg Allen and Manish Chauhan from Saraswati Vidya Mandir were also felicitated on the occasion.—OC

Dehradun, August 9
Welham Boys' and Asian School in the senior category and Kasiga School and DAV Defence Colony School in juniors have made it to the finals of the ongoing CBSE Sahodaya School Complex Inter-School Football Tournament at Scholars' Home School in Dehradun.

In the first semi-final match played here today in the senior category, Welham Boys won the match convincingly against Scholars' Home with score 4-0.

In the second match, Asian School reached the finals with a thumping 9-0 win over Jimp Pioneer School.

Meanwhile, in the junior category, Kasiga School made it to the finals after defeating Asian School 1-0 score.

The second match between Scholars' Home and DAV Defence Colony was a close one as no team was able to score a goal in the allotted time.

In the penalty shootout, DAV Defence Colony won the match 4-3 score.

It is to be noted that the finals would be played on August 12. 

Dehradun, August 9
A Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttarakhand Police arrested two inter-state arms smugglers and recovered one .32 bore pistol along with bullets from their possession at Sitarganj in Udham Singh Nagar district on Thursday.

Both, Mohamad Shameem, resident of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh and Lakhwinder Singh, resident of Sitarganj, were arrested by the police after the STF personnel were tipped-off that some inter-state arms smugglers are in the city to sell arms. — TNS