assembly in session
Uproar in House as Speaker gives directions on adjournment motion
Truce called between Congress, Opposition shattered
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
The truce called between the Congress government and Opposition BJP for the past two days was shattered on the third day of the Uttarakhand Assembly session with the House once again witnessing uproarious scenes and the Opposition creating a pandemonium as Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal gave directions to the government at the end of the adjournment motion on the mid-June natural calamity.

While giving directions to the government, Kunjwal said that he had allowed the adjournment motion brought by the Opposition sensing the gravity of the disaster which had both local and national importance but on a condition that it should not be made a practice. ''The serious discussion that was held for two days should get reflected in the policies. Only with an efficient work culture can we overcome the tragedy,'' said the Speaker.

He directed the government to ensure that the affected people who have been rendered homeless are provided temporary shelters to overcome the harsh winter months.Efforts should start immediately so that the people living in remote areas have a roof over their heads to brave the winter months and later permanent arrangement should be made for them. In case certain villages need rehabilitation to safer places, efforts should be mounted to settle them near their villages, said Kunjwal.

He also directed the government to adopt international technology for construction of roads and bridges. ''New alternative routes should be made for accessing the Char Dham shrines and these should be made safe for travel. The district-level disaster mitigation centres should be strengthened,'' he said.

Earlier, as soon as the House assembled in the morning, the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Ajay Bhatt raised the demand of extending the House to two more days, which led to heated discussions between the Opposition and treasury benches.

With the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hriyadesh, saying that as there was no business for the government to attend to there was no point in extending the session. However, the Opposition benches persisted with their demand.

In the pandemonium Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna who was to reply to the adjournment motion and present the government's point of view was prevented from doing so.

Since morning the House was adjourned five times. This prevented the Chief Minister from presenting the steps taken by the government during and after the disaster. Though Minister for Disaster Management Yashpal Arya presented the government's point of view, he was cut short by the Opposition MLAs, so much so that MLA Sanjay Gupta snatched the paper which was being read from the minister's hand and then along with the BJP MLA reached the well of the House raising slogans against the government. Paper missiles were flung at the Speaker and in the din the remaining business of the House was completed. 

Dharna by BJP MLA in Assembly passage 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
The BJP MLA from Ghansali today held a sit-in in the passage leading up to the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly as a mark of protest against the non-fulfilment of his demands.

“The government has been ignoring the demands of the people of Ghansali. As a mark of protest I am sitting on a dharna.

Yesterday I was forcefully pushed out of the precincts of the House and forced to stage a sit-in at the parade ground,” he said.

He said that no development activity had taken place in his constituency as the ruling party wasnot inclined towards the people of Ghansali.

Police was not carrying batons to control BJP rally
Gaurav Talwar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
By managing the BJP rally consisting of around 7,000 workers yesterday, the police has proved that mob management can be done without the use of baton.

The BJP staged a protest rally to gherao the Vidhan Sabha on the second day of the Assembly session. Surprisingly, for the first time the police was not carrying batons to manage a large crowd.

“It was decided a day ago that the police stationed at the first tier of barricading will not be carrying wooden batons to control the mob,” SP, City, Jadgish Chandra, told The Tribune.

“Another reason behind the step was that senior leaders of the BJP were participating in the rally and the police did not want to create a controversy by using force against them,” he added.

The police had put in place a three-tier barricading to control the protesters. At the first two levels, policemen were not carrying batons but were wearing helmets and chest guards. While at the third level of barricading, PAC personnel, water canon units and personnel laced with tear-gas shells were placed to control the rally in case it gets violent.

“The PAC was stationed at the third level and was equipped with batons and guns to fire tear-gas shells to control the crowd,” said Jagdish.

According to police officials, such a method cannot be used in every protest rally as one needs enough force to manage a large number of people without batons. The district police is happy that its experiment worked and is planning to use it in future as well. 

UKD (P) protests over 'anti-public' policies of govt
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
Activists of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar), under the leadership of party president Trivender Singh Panwar, today staged a protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha against the alleged anti-public policies of the state government.

Earlier, party men gathered at the Parade Ground in the morning, from where they proceeded towards the Vidhan Sabha.

The protesters tried to scale barricades erected by the police. A minor scuffle also took place between policemen and the protesters, following which the protesters were detained. However, they were released after sometime.

Party president Trivender Singh Panwar alleged that, "The state government is deeply involved in corrupt practises and ignoring the interests of the people. All anti-social elements such as liquor mafia and mining mafia have joined hands and made the life of the common man difficult. Law and order situation has completely derailed.

The police has bowed down before criminals. Inflation has hit the people hard."

He alleged that state ministers were enjoying in parties while disaster-affected people were on the verge of starvation.

Party spokesperson Manmohan Lakhera said the state government had failed to devise any action plan for a fair distribution of relief amount.

He asked the state government to come clear on the relief being utilised for the welfare of the disaster-hit.

Among those who participated in the protest included AP Juyal, Latafat Hussain, Shashi Bhushan Bhatt, Viredner Mohan , Promila Rawat, Geeta Bisht, Sufi Khalik, Sulochna Bahuguna, Nagender Jagudi, Satya Prakash Sati, Rekah, Kishan Singh, Surender Patwal, AP Nautiyal, Siya Singh Chauhan and Kunti Negi.

BJP MLAs continue to remain in House
It is breach of faith, says Opposition Leader Ajay Bhatt 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
Incensed with the attitude of the ruling Congress government which failed to heed to their demand of extending the House session until Tuesday, all the BJP MLAs did not leave the House even after it was adjourned indefinitely. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna,Parliamnetray Affiars Minister Indira Hriyadesh and Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal were trying to persuade the BJP legislators to end their dharna till late evening.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Assembly Ajay Bhatt said that it was breach of faith. The government had promised to extend the session but it backtracked on its promise.

''As we were unable to participate in the Business Advisory Committee meeting which was held yesterday to finalise the business and take decision on extending the House due to the party rally, the Congress government took all the decisions without our participation,'' said Ajay Bhatt.

He raised the issue in the House terming the passage of the supplementary budget as null because the demands were not passed according to the heads under which they are allocated, said Bhatt.

The matter was also raised by former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who also referred to the rule book and said that as the discussion under adjournment motion was still on, no business work should have been taken.

However, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hriyadesh said that all the rules were followed. ''As there was no business, it was pointless to conduct the House. Around six Bills had come up yesterday itself which were listed in the agenda for today. But the Opposition members did not attend the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee,'' she said.

Similar views were echoed by the Speaker, who said that the people's attention was riveted on their representatives as an important issue was being discussed, but after two days the debate lost track. The government was not allowed to put across its point of view. ''I am saddened by the response of the opposition,'' said Govind Singh Kunjwal.

Not satisfied with the response of the treasury benches, the Leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhatt tendered his resignation from the membership of Business Advisory Committee.

Till the writing of this report, the government was trying its best to placate the BJP MLAs to give up their dharna.

Assembly adjourned indefinitely 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
The three-day Monsoon session of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly ended today. Six bills, including the Uttarakhand Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation Bill 2013), the Uttarakhand Motor Vehicle Taxes Amendment Bill 2013, the Uttarakhand Public Service Amendment Bill 2013, the Uttarakhand Krishi Utapad Mandi Amendment Bill, the Uttarakhand Rajya Vidhan Mandal Amendment Bill and the Himalayan University Amendment Bill, were passed in the session.

However, as the Hemvanti Nandan Bahuguna-affiliated Medical Education University Bill 2013 was withdrawn, it is still pending for approval from the Uttarakhand Governor. 

Need to promote tourism to mitigate people’s sufferings: MP
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
Uttarakhand Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has underlined the need to promote tourism in the state for ensuring that people linked to the tourism industry do not continue to suffer in the aftermath of the natural disaster.

In a statement issued today, Satpal Maharaj said if immediate measures were not taken to bring tourism back on track in Uttarakhand, a large number of people in hills would lose their only source of livelihood. He asserted that tourist places like Nainital, Ramnagar, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Pauri, Mussoorie, and Ranikhet were very much safe for the tourists and this fact should be publicised.

He said a speedy reconstruction and rehabilitation exercise must be undertaken in Uttarakhand in the aftermath of the Kedarnath disaster. He added he would soon travel to Latin America to seek information about sheep that gives good quality of wool and would facilitate the rearing of the same breed of sheep in the state.

Maharaj said it was important that residents of border areas of the state were made self reliant and livelihood opportunities created for them.

He added the luncheon given to the MLAs before the start of the Assembly session was meant to discuss a work plan for the conduct of relief and rehabilitation activities.

Migration from Champawat villages on the rise
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, September 20
Migration has increased from remote villages of Champawat district due to lack of development. This is happening despite the fact that Champawat was made a separate district out of Pithoragarh 16 years ago to speed up development in the remote areas of the region. “The district administration has failed to solve even basic problems of power, electricity and drinking water in the last 16 years, forcing the villagers to migrate,” said Basant Singh Taragi, chairman of the newly formed Zila Vikas Sangharsh Samiti in Champawat.

Taragi said he had formed the samiti due to increase in migration from the villages situated on the Nepal border. “We have set a goal of ensuring basic facilities in these villages to check migration,” he added.

According to information, though on average Rs 125 crore was spent every year on the development of the district, residents of remote Talla Desh and Gumdesh areas are leaving their villages. “The population of Bhanar, Bhool, and Nag villages in the Gumdesh area was 125, 50 and 101, respectively, in 2001. It has fallen to 97, 5 and 64, respectively, in 2011,” said Taragi.

“Besides villages in the Tamli area, those situated on the Nepal border in the Gumdesh area of Lohaghat subdivision are also witnessing migration. The population of Polap, Tarkuli, Hayali, and Akeri villages in the area has fallen steadily in the last 16 years,” he said.

According to villagers of these backward areas, they travel over 50 km to visit the district administration offices but have to face corrupt practices to get necessary documents. “This is one of the reasons villagers want to live near the district headquarters,” said Purushotam Joshi, former block pramukh of the Tamli block in the Talla Desh area.

Taragi said he would impress upon the district administration to prioritise development in these villages. “We have started an agitation and given a memorandum to the district authorities demanding steps to check migration from remote areas. We will intensify the agitation if the district administration continues to neglect these villages,” he added.

DMC fails to complete survey of new houses
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
Dehradun Municipal Corporation administration has failed to complete the survey of new houses which are to be levied house tax this year.

In the meeting of the working committee, which took place more than a month ago, Mayor Vinod Chamoli has given directions to complete the survey before the meeting of the DMC Board so that tax could be levied on these houses. The board meeting is to be held next week. There are approximately 60,000 houses which had not been included in the ambit of the house tax so far.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli said: “The administration is paying no heed to the house tax survey work despite the fact that I paid so much stress on it to complete it before the board meeting so that we could proceed with the task of imposition of house tax and increase our revenue.”

He said DMC was earning around Rs 4.5 crore at present from house tax which could exponentially rise to Rs 9 crore if the new houses were also made to pay house tax. “Once the survey gets completed, then we have to ascertain a formula or criterion for the house tax, whether it has to be undertaken as per circle rate or other prevalent methods. This process too will consume significant time.” Anguished at the sluggish pace, he said the administration was locked in various inane conflicts and had to no time for the matters of urgency.

Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Ashok Kumar as usual blamed the shortage of staff in carrying out the survey work. He said he had adequate officials but not the staff to undertake such tedious task.The consultants of Project Implementation Unit who were pushed into this job were again made to focus on the ticklish issue of trenching ground which has got stuck in apex court.

MC members misbehave with PRD jawan
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, September 20
The peaceful town of Mussoorie was witness to the unruly behaviour of three elected representatives who allegedly misbehaved with a PRD (Prantiya Rakshak Dal) jawan on duty recently at Picture Palace entry barrier and threatened to remove him from the job for not saluting them.

The three Municipal Council members, Ramesh Bhandari,Vinod Semwal and Ramesh Bharti, who were allegedly in a drunken state, reached Picture Palace entry barrier around 9 pm and tried to force the PRD jawan Virendar Chaudhry, who was on duty, to open the gate during the prohibited hours and let their vehicle pass through without any hindrance. When Virendar Chaudhry refused to open the gate, the three MC members began hurling abuses at him and tried to assault the PRD jawan.

The trio also threatened the jawan with removing from the job and also asked him to salute them as he was employed by the MC for the job. The scuffle between the PRD Jawan and the three council members lasted nearly half an hour and the situation was defused only after the interference of local shopkeepers nearby.

The PRD jawans, agitated at the incident, boycotted work today and met the Executive Officer PS Rawat demanding strict action against the unruly behavior of the three council members.

The PRD jawans said that they were assigned with the duty to stop any vehicle from entering or exiting from Mall Road during the prohibited hours but the council members, “who were in a state of intoxication, were trying to flout the norms themselves, which will not be tolerated at any cost.”

PS Rawat said that he would investigate the matter and take action accordingly.

GMVN staff to get salary next month
They have not been paid for 3 months
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
Rajesh Kumar, Managing Director, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), said the GMVN employees, who had not received salaries for the last three months, would now get salaries next month. Thanks to the efforts made by GMVN to boost its business, they have begun getting success and thus revenue due to it.

Unfortunately, the state government did not pay heed to their requests to give financial package to the Nigam to be able to pay salaries to their 1,800 employees. Rajesh Kumar said, “We have begun getting online offers from tourists for travel packages. A couple of group of foreign tourists, too, came from New Zealand for hill destinations. Their trips went very well which will certainly spread good word for us and bring in more tourists from abroad.”

He said the travel agents from North India whom they contacted in Delhi were also proving quiet handy in fetching domestic tourists toward the state and busting the myth of the entire state being disaster prone.

He said, now their priority was to repair and renovate the damaged tourist rest houses. “We are preparing proposal for the renovation of damaged tourist rest houses, construction of which will be funded by Asian Development Bank alongwith World Bank. Once that part was taken care of, we will be able to provide good accommodation to the tourists.”

General Manager, HD Pandey, GMVN, said the idea of according accreditation to the travel agencies for LTC tours all across the country had been run away success in generating revenue for the Nigam.

Besides this, the corporation is also using its buses for special travel groups from Delhi for Corbett National Park.

Nigam staff protests mining rights to private contractors
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 20
Suspecting unemployment and possible lay-off of Nigam workers after the state government gives mining rights of major rivers of the state into private hands, thousands of Uttarakhand Van Vikas Nigam employees today held a massive rally against the proposed decision at SDM office in Haldwani.

“We are asking the government a simple question as to why it wants to give one man the entire profits of mining, instead of giving it to the thousands of workers of the Nigam,” said TC Pandey, a workers’ union leader in Kumaon region.

The protesting workers said if the work of mining in major rivers of the state went into private hands, they would face crisis of salary and it will affect the future of the children of nigam employees as their education and upbringing will be affected,” said the union leader.

The rally was attended by the woman wing of the Nigam workers union, besides Gaula Sangharsh Samiti.

According to the new proposal, the Kumaon Mandal Vikash Nigam has been assigned the task of giving 11 leases of mining, including six sanctioned and five likely to be sanctioned soon, into private hands.

“We will be benefited as we will get the amount in advance from the contractors. The nigam employees will be deputed to supervise the mining work,” said Deepak Rawat, MD of the nigam. According to Uttarakhand Van Nigam sources, the nigam deposits Rs 130 crore annually in government account out of this mining royalty.

“If the amount given by the Forest Department is included in this amount, it will be Rs 250 crore annually,” said Srikant Chandola, MD of the Uttarakhand Van Vikash Nigam.

The employees said if the mining rights were given into private hands, not only the environmental laws will be neglected but the common man will also face difficulties in getting these mineral for his use.

Mock drill to test disaster management preparedness
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, September 20
To get well prepared for any catastrophe, the District Disaster Management Authority is conducting mock drills at various places.

Today, a mock drill was carried out at the Liquified Petroleum Gas bottling plant at Landaura, Roorkee, by the authority.

The mock drill was done on the directives of Haridwar District Magistrate Dr Nidhi Pandey. The District Disaster Management Officer, Dr Naresh Chaudhari, said in the mock drill, real disaster-like situations were being rehearsed.

He added that it would provide valuable inputs to meet any such situation and also test their preparations.

During the mock drill, it was presumed that LPG gas was leaking from one of the lorry tankers. The driver of the lorry, in haste, hit a nearby pillar, due to which the lorry cylinders caught fire.

The fire fighters pitched in with the rescue operation. The fire fighters, led by chief fire controller Kalesh Kumar first issued an alert on the plant premises and then informed the District Disaster Management Control Room. The disaster management employees, comprising health, first aid and Red Cross staff, arrived at the bottling plant.

While the fire fighters tried to douse the flames, the volunteers catered to the injured who were later taken to Roorkee Civil Hospital.

Hydrants were opened and the valve from where leakage was going on was also mapped and closed. As the gas level reached zero point, an all-clear siren was blown.

Regional manager of Bharat Petroleum Corporation S Bhattacharya said the mock drill pointed out to the many loopholes in the security setup, which would be adhered to soon.

14-day health camp begins in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, September 20
A 14-day spiritual and ayurvedic health camp began at Lakshmi Narayan temple under the aegis of Divya Adhyatmic Shakti organisation and Inner wheel club of Mussoorie, today.

Around five doctors namely, Dr Vivek Gutpa, Bal Krishan,Pankaj Kumar and Rajendar Babbar will be conducting a medical check-up for various disease such as asthma, stress, backache, blood pressure, diabetes etc, during the 14 days of the camp.

The convener of the event Neerja Pandhi informed that the villagers from around the town will benefit from the camp being held here.

CAPTA CAELUM - 2013
Mussoorie International wins overall championship
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, September 20
Mussoorie International School was today declared the overall champion in the two-day inter-school invitational cultural festival titled “Capta Caelum - 2013”, hosted by Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie.

St George’s College, Mussoorie, was declared the runner-up on the occasion.

Students from 10 schools of Dehradun and Mussoorie, including Mussoorie International, St George’s College, St Jude’s, Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary, Waverly Convent, Sela-Qui International, Colonal Brown, Unison World, Hampton Court and Wynberg-Allen participated in various events organised as part of the festival.

The contestants took part in the events- rhyme-time, treasure hunt, make-a-face, through the lens, plan-a-playlet, do-a-duet, turn coat, shoot-a-flick, t-shirt designing, ad-world and hindi solo. The event was organised and managed by the students of the Wynberg-Allen and the host school entered only in non-competitive category.

Almora farmers lost Rs 82 lakh of vegetable crops in disaster
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 20
Almora vegetable farmers have lost crops worth Rs 82 lakh in flash floods in June and July. About 30 per cent of the total vegetable production in the district was destroyed due to heavy rains.

Dayulu Ram, District Horticulture Officer (DHO), Almora, said farmers of Kakarighat, Salt, Bhikiasain and Tarikjhet lost up to 50 per cent of their vegetable crops. “Besides farmers of these areas, the farmers of Dhaula Devi, Lamgara, Takula, Bhikiasain and Tarikhet areas in the district lost over 30 per cent of their vegetable produce of the season due to excessive rains,” said Dayulu Ram.

He added potato, cauliflower, chilly, tomato and Brinjal crops were damaged. “The farmers have not so far been given any compensation for their losses,” he said.

The District Magistrate, Almora, Akshat Gupta has ordered an assessment of the losses suffered by the vegetable farmers in the district.

''Even the Governor is not safe''
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 20
While taking cognisance of the media reports about Governor of Uttarakhand Aziz Qureshi applying for renewal of gun licence, the Opposition BJP latched on the issue to show the mirror to the government about it’s failure to curb lawlessness in the state.

While demanding discussion on the firing incident, the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Ajay Bhatt said: “The Governor of Uttarakhand is not feeling safe and has, therefore, applied for the licence for this protection,” said Ajay Bhatt.

However, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hriyadesh corrected the Opposition by saying that he had only applied for renewal of the old licence. 

Man cheated of Rs 5,000 through online fraud
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, September 20
A case of financial online fraud, where one person was duped of Rs 5,000 by a Noida-based Solar Technology Company, has come to light in Mussoorie.

The police said a class IV employee, Gagan Singh has registered a complaint against one Nityanand Kumar for duping him of Rs 5,000 for winning a competition by answering the questions given in the pamphlet distributed by his firm in local newspapers in Mussoorie few days back.

Gagan Singh was told that after answering the questions he should call the numbers given in the pamphlet to register him and if the answers were found correct he would win prizes in the form of vehicles of various denomination. Gagan Singh registered him in the competition by calling the numbers given in the pamphlet and was later told by Nityanand Kumar that he has won an Maruti Alto car and he should deposit Rs 5,000 at the given account number as registration charges in order to receive the prize he had won. Nityanand also gave an address of the website owned by Solar Technology, Noida to Gagan Singh to gain trust.

Gagan Singh fell in the trap and deposited Rs 5,000 at the account number of Punjab National Bank account number 17380001000522980. When he received no reply he called Nityanand once again to enquire about his prize yesterday night, but was told to deposit Rs 2,000 once again. Gagan became suspicious of the deal and informed the police about the whole matter today by filing a complaint against the alleged fraudsters in Mussoorie.

When contacted the Marketing Manager of the Solar Technology Private Limited Ranjit Singh said they had no such policy of running a competition and announcing prizes and it looks as if some persons were trying to defame their firm by entering into online fraud.

When contacted SSI, RP Sati, said the case of fraud had been registered on the complaint of Gagan Singh and prima facie it looks as if a gang of online fraud was active in the area. The police also enquired at the phone number given in the pamphlet and received the reply that Gagan Singh will have to Pay Rs 2,000 to receive the Alto car which he won by answering the pamphlet. He further said the directions were given to freeze the account in which the sum was deposited and further investigation had been initiated. 

Duped of Rs 1 crore in land deal 

Dehradun, September 20
One person has been allegedly duped of Rs one crore by four persons in the name of selling land in Dehradun. According to the complaint filed by Rajneesh Singh, resident of EC Road, at the Dalanwala police station, he was duped of Rs one crore by four persons namely, Vijendra Singh, Bankelal, Kuwar Singh and Satendra Panwar, who allegedly sold him fake land at Shayampur worth Rs 1.03 crore. 

The victim is saying that the forged agreement paper was presented in front of him and later he got to know that the land belongs to somebody else. Investigating officer, Digpal Singh said investigation in the case is on and the police is trying to catch the accused . —TNS