HC quashes Dehradun DM order
Dehradun, September 22
The Nainital High Court has quashed the order of District Magistrate (DM), Dehradun, of appointing himself as the authorised controller of six institutions run by Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala (PG) College, which is a registered society. It has restored the previous arrangement where the institutions were run by their own management committees.

Dehradun, September 22
Though Kunwar Pranav Singh “Champion” has surrendered to the police for the firing incident at the dinner party of Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat, there are bleak chances that he will get nailed in the case. The police is yet to recover the weapon of crime and empty bullet shells.

It is quite evident that the police has done precious little to bring him to book in the case. In fact a murky conspiracy was hatched within the first 24 hours of the incident to save the accused MLA from the clutches of law.

A senior police officer told The Tribune that, “Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal has held him responsible for firing gunshots at Harak Singh Rawat’s dinner party but there is not enough evidence against him to nail him in court.”

The police has not yet recovered bullet shells from Harak Singh Rawat’s house where the incident occurred. Some police officers said, “We are not hopeful of finding the used bullet shells from the spot as they may have been removed by now.”

The district police drew flak from the Assembly Speaker, who was also present at the dinner party when Champion allegedly opened fire and injured two fellow Congress leaders on the eve of the Assembly session that started on September 18.

The SP, City, told The Tribune that the police would call the Khanpur MLA for questioning in connection with the firing incident. But he did not say whether the police would consider the statement of the Assembly Speaker as evidence against Kunwar Pranav Singh.

Except Kunjwal everybody else present at the party, including Vivekanand Khanduri and Ravindra Saini who were injured by gunshots, is suffering from amnesia. Vivekanand Khanduri, who is getting treatment at the CMI Hospital for the bullet injury he sustained in the incident, said he only heard a high decibel noise and fell unconscious. He did not remember anything after that.

Interestingly, Ravindra Saini, who openly accused Champion in front of the media for firing shots at the party, took a U-turn and gave an affidavit to the police on Friday claiming that he did not remember anything. Questions are being raised about the credibility of these two leaders who are changing their statements and weakening the case against the culprit MLA.

There is still no complainant in the case and the police has registered a case against an unknown person. On the other hand, the police has also failed to recover the weapon from which the bullets were fired, which is considered the most crucial evidence to nail a culprit in the court of law.

Dehradun, September 22
The Dehradun unit of the Samajwadi Party (SP) burnt an effigy of the Central Government at Clock Tower here today in protest against the rising prices of onion.

President of the city union of the party Pradeep Chaudhary said it had become difficult for the common man to survive. The Centre had failed miserably in checking the increasing onion prices.

He said due to the "faulty" policies of the government, the prices of even essential commodities had become out of reach of the common man.

Chaudhary alleged that the Centre was not concerned about the problems being faced by the people. He said people were fed up with "anti-people" policies of the Union Government.

Keshav Jahan, Sumit Kumar, Ankit, Sanjay Singh, Samir Khan, Amir and Jasvir were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, September 22
The Nainital High Court has quashed the order of District Magistrate (DM), Dehradun, of appointing himself as the authorised controller of six institutions run by Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala (PG) College, which is a registered society. It has restored the previous arrangement where the institutions were run by their own management committees.

The Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Uttarakhand, had passed an order on behalf of the Governor, exercising powers under Section 58 of the State Universities Act, 1973 and dissolved the committee of management of MKP (PG) College and appointed the Dehradun District Magistrate as its authorised controller.

The District Magistrate implemented the order and passed another directive in this regard and put other six institutions functioning under Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala, which is a registered society, under his control.

It is noteworthy that institutions like MKP Inter College, Mahadevi Institute of Technology, MKP (PG) College and Kalindi Hostel were functioning under the control of the MKP Society.

The MKP management committee challenged the District Magistrate's order in the high court. The court after listening to both parties quashed the order of the District Magistrate. However, the court order does not apply to the management committee of MKP (PG) College which is under the control of the District Magistrate.

Jitendra Singh Negi, secretary of the MKP Management Committee, said they welcomed the court verdict as it reflected that the District Magistrate's order was arbitrary in nature.

Dehradun, September 22
Members of the Jan Sangharsh Morcha said today that the Nainital High Court had taken note of the illegal mining being done on the Yamuna riverbed in the Kalsi region of the state. The court has also asked the Dehradun district administration to file a counter affidavit on the matter following a PIL filed by the morcha on the same issue.

Addressing a press conference here, Jan Sangharsh Morcha president Raghunath Singh Negi said on the pretext of a flood protection programme, the Dehradun district administration and Irrigation Department allowed mining in the Yamuna to facilitate the availability of material for construction of embankment meant to check floods. “Illegal mining was being done on a large scale and that too without a proper environment impact assessment,” Negi said.

He further said the Jan Sangharsh Morcha subsequently filed a PIL in the Nainital high court following which the court, which took the matter with all seriousness, asked the Dehradun district administration to file a counter affidavit on the matter. “The high court also directed the district administration to ensure that the ban on mining in the Kalsi region was strictly implemented,” Negi said.

The morcha would continue with its protest against corrupt state officials in the days to come, he added.

Dehradun, September 22
Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt has accused the state government of having failed to provide relief to the disaster victims.

In a statement issued here today, Bhatt said there were several instances when cheques provided as relief amount to the disaster victims had bounced due to the lack of funds, which was a matter of serious concern.

"It is strange that while large donations have come from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, relief cheques provided to the victims are getting bounced," said Bhatt.

Bhatt said insufficient relief was being provided to the victims in the far-off disaster- affected villages in the state. He accused the state government of coming out with misleading advertisements about disaster relief. "The state government is trying to improve its image by making false claims of providing speedy relief to the disaster victims," he said.

Bhatt alleged that it was shameful that the government was even publishing the photographs of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the packets of relief material. On other issues, Bhatt said Uttarakhand was witnessing agitations ever since the Congress came to power. He said employees were frustrated due to "anti-employee" policies of the government.

Dehradun, September 22
District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam has banned the use of loudspeaker, DJ and band in the city after 10 pm.

DM Purushottam said he had been receiving complaints regarding disturbance at night due to the use of loudspeakers and DJs for the past few days.

At a meeting held here today, the DM directed the officials concerned to ensure the implementation of the order with immediate effect.

Despite the fact that such an order had been issued in the past also, wedding point owners and hoteliers continued to create noise pollution at night. He clarified that even the High Court had banned the use of DJs in hotels and restaurants after 10 pm. He said those found violating the orders would be issued a challan of Rs 10,000.

When he was informed that some families insist on playing music at weddings even after 10 pm, the DM said actions would be taken against them also.

He has made it mandatory for the families of bride, bridegroom and hotel and wedding point owners to inform the district administration about every function and take permission for the use of DJs.

Dehradun, September 22
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna will participate in a meeting of the National Integration Council to be presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Monday.

The Chief Minister told mediapersons at his residential office here today that he would be presenting his views at the meeting. He said it was important for everyone to maintain a secular attitude. He spoke about implementing the Justice Srikrishna Commission and the Sachar Committee reports to punish the accused that tainted the nation's secular ethos.

He added that the cases of individuals creating communal tension and inciting riots should be handed over to fast-track courts and the offenders should be severely punished. The communal peace got hampered due to the weakness of the government.

The Chief Minister said there was peace in Uttarakhand despite riots in Muzaffarnagar, which indicated the prevalent communal harmony in the state. He added the prayers were on in Kedarnath. Preparations were on to take a limited number of locals and pilgrims to Kedarnath in October. A meeting in this regard would be held on September 30.

It is expected that all blocked roads to Kedarnath would be opened within 10 days. Roads till Gangotri had been opened for traffic.

Bahuguna said work was on to restart tourism activities in the state. Everyone was being informed that all tourist destinations in the state were safe. He informed mediapersons that a meeting of tour operators from all over the state would also be organised after Dasehra.

The state was getting over the damage caused due to the natural disaster and working towards restoring normal life in the affected areas.

The Chief Minister said as compensation for loss caused, the government was giving above the financial aid of Rs 5 lakh to widows, Rs 25,000 from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, as well as Rs 50,000 to the expectant mothers along with Rs 400 as support every month under the Nanda Devi Special Assistance Programme.

He added that a fixed deposit of Rs 1 lakh was also being given to girls who lost their parents in the disaster.

The money could be withdrawn at the time of their wedding.

Dehradun, September 22
Sixteen candidates were caught cheating in the Ayurvedic Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) examination which was held here today.

The police has started investigations into the case. It is suspecting the role of an organised racket behind this.

The exam is conducted by Pant Nagar University. While 15 candidates are from CNI Inter-college, one is from Gurunanak Inter-College.

Dehradun, September 22
Representatives of several resident welfare associations put their problems before a panel of officials through the joint Doon Resident Welfare Front (DRWF) here today.

The panel consisted of District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam, secretary of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) Banshidhar Tiwari, Executive Engineer of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation Ravi Pandey and Circle Officer Swantantar Kumar.

Dr Mahesh Bhandari, president of the DRWF, stressed the need for convening such meetings between the front and officials of the departments concerned at least once in a month.

He said 50 resident welfare associations had come under the flock of the DRWF.

President of the Hill View Point Residents’ Welfare Association demanded shifting of the trenching ground in view of assurance given by the DMC to the residents about eight years ago. He said inhabitants of the residential area, which comprised of 30,000 houses and five schools, were compelled 
to live in intolerable stench of garbage.

Purushottam said there was a bleak possibility that the trenching ground would be shifted in next six months, as the alternative site at Shishambara was under construction. He, however, assured the association that the garbage would not be carried to the trenching ground exposed but well covered.

On another issue raised by the residents of Green Valley about the way Peyjal Nigam usurped land in the area to build a solid waste treatment plant, Purushottam said no government official could dare to do so and in the case mentioned, the agency took a due permission from the departments concerned. He also rebuffed the very idea of construction of a sewerage treatment plant in the area. The association of Keshav Vihar demanded to either shift the site of the bus stop or keep the buses for Vikas Nagar moving round the clock.

Mukesh Singhal, president of the Rest Camp association, demanded relocation of a post-mortem house from the area.

He said, “With the advent of time, houses have mushroomed all over the place, even surrounding the post-mortem house. This must now be shifted elsewhere,” said Singhal, while complaining about stray animal menace in the area.

President of the Old Survey Road SL Gupta condemned the irregularity of the sanitary workers, saying that they did not turn up to clean the roads and collect the garbage for days.

The resolution of problem regarding unauthorised encroachment of roadside land by vendors and stall owners in Vansthali Vihar was sought, which, the representative alleged, had led to a serious parking problem.

The officials were given a copy of the grievances raised by these associations. They promised to get back to them in due course of time with the solution.