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Monsoon session likely to be stormy
Security stepped up
Traffic woes await residents
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Treasury employees threaten agitation on arrears
No breakthrough in Neeru Saini murder case
NK Gusain, several others quit UKD, join BSP
Trenching ground shifting
Flats for weaker sections to cost Rs 2 lakh more
Importance of social media highlighted
7-day training for masons by HESCO
Chinks in BJP unit in Pithoragarh
Ex-MLA beaten up, robbed
Students' body holds protest
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Monsoon session likely to be stormy
Dehradun, September 16 "Though we have been told that the Vijay Bahuguna-led government is keen on keeping the session of the Assembly short, we will not allow this and raise the issues pertaining to the calamity. After all, people want to know what steps the government has taken to contain damage in the future. Moreover, people are dissatisfied with the relief works being undertaken by the government," said Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. The prominent issues that are expected to figure in the Assembly are the privatisation of mining, lathi charge on ABVP members during the students' union poll at DAV (PG) College, poor law and order situation and poor coordination among ministers. Besides, the BJP is also expected to press upon the government not to shorten the session so that discussions on all issues could be held. However, on September 19, the BJP would also lay siege to the Uttarakhand Assembly as a mark of protest. |
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Security stepped up
Dehradun, September 16 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) will oversee the security arrangements during the session. Two Additional Superintendents of Police (ASPs), 6 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), 17 inspectors, 44 sub-inspectors and 160 constables will be stationed in the security arrangements for the session. “We have made elaborate security arrangements in and around the Assembly building keeping in view the ongoing session,” SP, City, Jagdish Chandra, told The Tribune. Quick Response Teams (QRTs) along with tear gas squads to deal with protest marches will also remain on their toes during the session. Fire tenders will also be stationed around the Assembly complex to deal with any emergency situation. |
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Traffic woes await residents
Dehradun, September 16 There will be a sudden surge in the demonstrations and protest marches, prominently near the Assembly building around Rispana Bridge, which causes traffic to move at a snail’s pace. Due to traffic congestion in the city, commuters find it difficult to reach offices, schools, hospitals and colleges, especially in the morning hours. It has been observed that the route diversions that are made by the police to ease the congestion, worsens the problem. The motorists usually have to take detours to reach their destinations. Barricading installed around the Assembly complex to stop the protest procession also causes problems, as it prevents commuters from having a trouble-free drive. According to the route diversion plan of the police, vehicles going towards Haridwar will be diverted from Nehru Colony towards Jogiwala in case a protest march comes from Dehradun city. On the other hand, if some protest march come from the Jogiwala side, it will be stopped at Shastrinagar Barrier and traffic will be diverted to Ring Road. Generally, residents of Defence Colony are the most affected during the Assembly session, as the road to enter the colony remains closed throughout for security reasons. This time also the residents are not going to get any respite and the road will be barricaded for the entire session. City SP Jagdish Chandra said, “We are aware that traffic congestion worsens during the Assembly session due to simultaneous demonstrations in different parts of the city. A traffic plan has been made to ensure minimum inconvenience to the public and traffic police will be on duty to keep a check on every move.” |
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Guv hands over water purifiers to schools
Dehradun, September 16 The Governor gave the water purifiers to heads
or representatives of the various educational institutions. He said that the country had been promised pure drinking water when
it became independent but this promise was yet unfulfilled. He said that keeping
in mind the growing pollution of rivers, receding glaciers and global warming,
it was apprehended that the next world war would be for water. The Governor expressed concern at the increasing threat to the existence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. He appreciated the effort made by Rotary Club to provide safe drinking
water to students. Present were Rotary Club (Dehradun) president Gauravdeep Singh ,David Hilton,R.K.Bakshi and principals and coordinators of various schools. Among the institutions which were given the water purifiers were Bal Bhawan, Aamwala, Apnaghar ,Clement Town, Bal Vanita Ashram ,Imam Masjid ,Tasmia Junior High School, Azad Educational Academy, Mehuwala, Samadhan helpline, Himjyoti School, Kanya Inter College, Ranipokhari, Swargpuri Ashram, Guru Nanak Girls' Inter College,
Doodhli Inter College and High School, Simlas Grant. |
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50 water filters donated for disaster-hit
Dehradun, September 16 Speaking on the occasion, Kalpna said the ex-servicemen community was ready to contribute towards the disaster relief and would try to assist the affected people. The Dehradun unit of the 127 Eco Task Force has taken the responsibility of delivering the water filters to the affected people. |
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Treasury employees threaten agitation on arrears
Dehradun, September 16 The employees of treasury today met the Secretary, Finance, Bhaskaranand Joshi, and apprised him of the inordinate delay in accepting their demand. ''We were shocked after the government dropped our main demand that
was rejected at the last minute and did not figure in the Cabinet meeting,'' said Pradeep Kohli, patron of Koshaghar Karamchari Sangathan (Uttarakhand). He said that the Nainital High Court in it's decision of March 8, 2013, had ruled in their favour, urging the Uttarakhand government to ensure that their arrears were paid within three months as it was being done by the Uttar Pradesh government but the government failed to pay any heed. ''We were told that during the Cabinet meeting, the matter could not be taken up as some ministers were angry
over some issue. It violates the High Court order,'' said Kohli. He said that in it's reply, the Uttarakhand government had submitted an affidavit in the Nainital High court that the treasury employees would also receive revised salaries
but this promise was also not kept. ''We will be forced to launch an agitation in
case the government continues to ignore us,'' said Kohli. |
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No breakthrough in Neeru Saini murder case
Dehradun, September 16 The police is still not able to ascertain the motive behind the gruesome murder which took place in broad-daylight at Teg Bahadur Road in Dalanwala area in the city. The special teams formed by the SSP have not found any noticeable evidence, which could help them in arresting anybody. Teams were sent to Uttarkashi and Roorkee in connection with the murder case but they did not get any success. The police has interrogated 10-11 persons in the case but nothing much has been gained from those interrogations as well. The police is still maintaining that investigation is going on and nothing can be disclosed anything at present in the interest of the investigation. It is noteworthy that 40-year-old Neeru Saini, wife SK Saini, was found murdered inside her house when she was alone there. After investigations it was found that the murder was not carried with an intention of robbery and there was something mysterious behind the gruesome act. |
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NK Gusain, several others quit UKD, join BSP
Dehradun, September 16 The way Gusain had joined UKD (Aeri) with another leader DK Pal along with 38 other party activists breaking from UKD (D), this time, too, he took along the same flock to the BSP. Before joining UKD (D), he had broken ties with UKD (Panwar) and then floated his own faction UKD (A). BSP Uttarakhand in charge RK Burman welcomed the new entrants but also issued them a warning regarding strict adherence to the typical ideology and discipline of BSP. “I expect the leaders and activists of the UKD who joined the BSP today to perform their duties with hard work, sincerity and honesty while being particular about following party ideology and discipline,” said Burman. Being fully aware about the proclivity of the UKD leaders to indulge in dharnas and protests, Burman asked them to steer clear of such demonstrations in BSP. “We don’t resort to dharnas and protests but work silently in our respective areas. It is our representatives in the Vidhan Sabha who raise our issues. The issues are settled in the Assembly not on roads,” he added. He assured the UKD flock of full dignity in the party and said another similar function was in the pipeline when people from other parties, too, would join the BSP. He said people preferred BSP over Congress and BJP for being a party with inclination toward farmers and traders and maintaining law and order. He said they were focusing on winning all the five parliamentary seats in state and making it the biggest tally in Lok Sabha elections in order to ensure Mayawati became the Prime Minister. Former UKD general secretary DK Pal said they were ready to work hard for their areas and shun the dazzle of publicity through public protests. He hoped of getting the ticket from the party in the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. While pouring out pain on snapping ties with the UKD, he said: “We did not get the regard and due position after joining the Aeri faction. Be it Trivender Singh Panwar, Kashi Singh Aeri or Diwakar Bhatt or even minister Preetam Panwar, all of them are concerned about themselves.” Former vice-president of the UKD NK Gusain said, on the one hand, the party leaders had planned to gherao Vidhan Sabha on September 18 to lodge protest against state government policies, and on the other hand they were supporting the state government. This dual policy disoriented and confounded the party members about the party stand on the state government. He said some leaders were indulging in these tactics to obtain red-beacon cars. Patron of UKD (Aeri) BD Raturi refuted these allegations and said the desertion by Gusain and Pal would not affect their party at all. He also objected at the manner in which they left the party without giving any prior notice or information to the party leaders about th move. |
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Panwar for revamping civic bodies’ structure
Haridwar, September 16 Panwar was speaking at a one-day convention held by HUDCO at a SIDCUL-based hotel here today. He said the civic bodies in the state did not have sufficient income or revenue generation options. The need of the hour was to make the civic bodies self-sufficient and capable of giving their employees salaries on time besides taking care of their other requirements. “We need to increase our commercial activities for generating revenue. We don’t need to depend on only government for aid. HUDCO can help civic bodies in this aspect and new projects need to be conceived by the municipal corporations,” said Panwar. City Mayor Manoj Garg, while handing out a memento to the minister, thanked HUDCO for the projects being envisaged by the corporation under the challenge fund. The representatives of HUDCO also gave presentation of projects being managed by it in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, which, they said, could be replicated in Uttarakhand also. Regional chief of HUDCO KK Chauhan said for Uttarakhand, the HUDCO had sanctioned 103 schemes. For these, Rs 465.59 crore loan had been sanctioned while Rs 317.41 crore had already been released. He said technical assistance was also being provided to the state for five residential projects by the HUDCO. Chauhan said HUDCO also donated Rs 25 lakh to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for flash-flood victims and had also sanctioned Rs 1 crore for rehabilitation programmes in the affected villages. “Besides, HUDCO has donated Rs 3,000 crore for rehabilitation projects in the affected areas. It has also given Rs 7 crore for setting up modern villages in the state,” said Chauhan. Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli, Roorkee Mayor Yashpal Rana, Haldwani Mayor Yogendra Rautela, Kashipur Mayor Usha Chaudhari and Rudrapur Mayor Soni Kohli, along with Nagar Palika chiefs of the state, were present on the occasion. |
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Trenching ground shifting
Dehradun, September 16 According to consultant, Project Implementation Unit, DMC, Pankaj Bhatt, “The DMC has hired noted Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi who has charged Rs 9 lakh for his first appearance in the court. Since now, we have got the stay over the High Court order in the first hearing, we will have to pay subsequent fee of Rs 7.5 lakh over each hearing.” The hefty court fee is certainly punching holes in the depleting coffers of DMC. “We have no option but to take the best foot forward in getting the judgement in our favour. It is a very ticklish and sensitive issue which has to be dealt sincerely and firmly in the apex court,” he said. DMC officials had to face backlash for not paying heed to the matter when it proceeded in the High Court, Nainital. None of the representatives of DMC was there in High Court when the judgement was pronounced on the issue. Mukhya Nagar Adhikari, DMC, Ashok Kumar said, “We are making best efforts and leaving no stone unturned in keeping our stand in the apex court strongly. It is not possible for DMC to shift the garbage, deposited from all over the city for over a decade in the trenching ground. The builders should not have built residential houses and MDDA should not permit such constructions around the trenching ground. DMC has done nothing wrong for which it should be punished to shift the trenching ground.” Mayor Vinod Chamoli, too, reiterated the same stance saying that there was no viable vacant land far from the city to be treated as trenching ground. Secondly, he said, it would be hazardous for environment of the surrounding areas. He expressed hope that DMC would win the case in its favour in apex court. |
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Flats for weaker sections to cost Rs 2 lakh more
Dehradun, September 16 While the cost of the flats for EWS has jumped to Rs 7 lakh, the cost of the Low Income Group flats has gone up to Rs 12 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh. The cost of the Medium Income Group flats has risen to Rs 30 lakh. The housing scheme, launched by the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), has the provision of increment in the cost of the flats by 20 to 30 per cent. Vice-chairman of th e MDDA R M Sundaram, however, said the authority would give relaxation to the people of EWS category by providing them an alternative to pay a part of the cost of flats in instalments for the next 15 years. Sundaram defended the increase, saying the real cost could be evaluated after calculating all the expenditures related to the construction. “People with annual income of Rs 1 lakh will now be able to avail the benefit under the EWS category. They will have to deposit Rs 70,000 at the beginning that is 10 per cent of the total amount. After the lottery process is conducted, the allottes will have to deposit Rs 1.40 lakh and they can pay the remaining of the 70 per cent of the amount in easy instalments for the next 15 years.” It is the Housing Urban Development Corporation, which has prepared the design and cost evaluation of the whole project. |
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Rebuilding state impossible without engineers: Arya
Dehradun, September 16 Addressing the Annual Convention of the Uttarakhand Engineers Federation, Arya said any rebuilding activity in the state would be incomplete without participation of engineers. He also supported the view of engineers that a technical committee must be constituted in the state so that engineers have a say in the construction works and the decision making linked to reconstruction lies with those with technical expertise. Referring to the rain disaster, Arya said a large number of people in Garhwal hills were still living in tents and under the sky. Speedy reconstruction was the need of the hour, which, he said, would be impossible without the support of engineers. He also assured to take up the issue with the Chief Minister with the long-pending demands linked to pay scale and other benefits of the state government engineers. Arya also released the Uttarakhand Engineers Federation’s souvenir. Earlier, president of the federation NM Malasi shed light on the concerns of the engineers in the state. He said engineers were a deprived lot and their demands were seldom addressed by the state government. |
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India needs efficient engineers to ensure growth, says Qureshi
Dehradun, September 16 The Governor said there was a need to check mushrooming of institutions, which were charging a huge fee to produce a large number of incapable engineers. He paid homage to well-known engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya and said the young people with the capability of becoming good engineers should be given a chance. About the destruction caused by the natural disaster in the state, he said the support of engineers was expected in rebuilding the hill region. Qureshi added technocrats, instead of bureaucrats, should be the heads of the departments like irrigation, power and drinking water. He honoured five senior engineers for their special achievements and services. |
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Importance of social media highlighted
Dehradun, September 16 Addressing a workshop organised jointly by UCOST, Real Host and Succub Public Relations Services in Dehradun, Rajendra Dobhal said while social media played an important role in the dissemination of information during recent Kedarnath disaster in Uttarakhand, a lot of misinformation was also communicated in process, which was a matter of concern. "Lot of baseless reasons came up for Kedarnath disaster in the social media regarding the cause of disaster, which added to the confusion," he pointed out. He said as social media was an effective tool of communication so it involved lot of precautions. DAV (PG) College principal Dr Devendra Bhasin said social media like facebook was integral part of life of today's youth. He asserted that the youth of today instead of using social media as a tool to gain knowledge, is using it just for entertainment. Indian Media Centre Uttarakhand president, Anoop Nautiyal spoke on effects of social media on society. Uttarakhand Additional Secretary Industries Sudhir Nautiyal, UCOST's Amit Pokhriyal and Confederation of India Industries' Gaurav Lamba were the prominent, present on the occasion. |
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7-day training for masons by HESCO
Dehradun, September 16 Senior scientist from HESCO Dr Rakesh Kumar inaugurated the programme and said these masons would be constructing makeshift huts for the disaster-affected people. Thus the training would touch every aspect of construction, particularly in hill topography. He said the programme would also lay emphasis on earthquake-free construction. Dr RK Desai from Ahmedabad spoke on construction that is light and less costly. He said it was a good initiative on the part of HESCO to hold such a training programme. "Training for masons held much importance, particularly when these they have to work in the disaster-affected areas," he added. A total of 35 masons from Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi and Chamoli are taking part in the programme. |
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Chinks in BJP unit in Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh, September 16 According to sources, party workers are demanding the resignation of chief of the district unit of the party Kishen Singh Bhandari for allegedly appointing new members in the district executive, who, they said, were against the party interests. “Certain Congress workers are joining the BJP before the Lok Sabha elections to cause damage to the party,” alleged Govind Singh Mahar, a statehood activist and party member. He alleged that the party had been infiltrated by Congress men. On the other hand, senior BJP leaders said it was the right of party workers to show resentment. “We have been apprised of the situation and the matter will be resolved soon,” said Kedar Joshi, one of the vice-presidents of the state unit of the BJP. |
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Nurses stage protest, seek fulfilment of their pending demands
Dehradun, September 16 The member of Uttarakhand Nurses Service Association said one month has passed, but the government has not issued any order regarding their demands. “According to the provision of work to rule, we have decided to abstain from duties for the evening and night duties,” said Anjana Bhowmick, president of the Association. Some of the demands include, filling of the post of Deputy Director (Nursing) through the Nursing cadre. Appointment of nurses at the Doon Hospital according to the prescribed norms laid down in the Indian Nursing Council. Sisters, servicing with in the government sector be assigned the designation of gazetted officers akin to chief pharmacists. Payment of arrears since 2008, conveyance allowance and creation of post of Additional Director, Joint Director and Deputy Director at the Health Directorate for nurses are other major demands. |
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Ex-MLA beaten up, robbed
Pithoragarh, September 16 “When I was returning from Tanakpur with one of my relatives at 11 pm last night, some youths stopped my car at Gurna and started beating me. They later snatched my wallet and mobile and fled,” said an injured Rajbar, who complained to the District Magistrate about the incident. “An FIR has been registered and investigations are on,” said a police officer in Pithoragarh.
— OC |
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Students' body holds protest
Dehradun, September 16 Students flayed the working of university officials and threatened to intensify their agitation if the things did not not improve in coming days. At present, there are only three counters for the distribution of marksheets.The protesters demanded that the university should send the marksheets to DAV (PG) College only if they could not distribute it in an organised way.
— OC |
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