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Himalayan Tsunami
Contractual power employees told to call off strike before talks
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Rahul’s Nov 15 rally in Dehradun postponed
Bahuguna meets Jairam on road development
Panchayati Raj poll: Survey on OBCs complete
Champion declares wife as Lok Sabha candidate from Haridwar
Power corporation formulates innovative
strategy for a profitable future
Bhaiya Dooj celebrated with fervour
Protest by shiksha acharyas continues
Pharmacists raise slogans against govt
Autumn fest begins in Pithoragarh tomorrow
Portals of Yamunotri, Kedarnath closed
108 ambulance service receives 525 calls on Diwali
Poacher, four others arrested
BPED, MPED unemployed to hold rally on Nov 8
SHO suspended for not acting against drug trafficking
45-yr-old killed by leopard
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14 villages in Urgam valley await road connectivity
Ajay Ramola/TNS
Badrinath, November 5 Villagers said around 600 m of road connecting these villages was to be constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY), but the administration has not started the work even after the allocation of the budget for the same. Rishi Prasad Sati, former Nagar Palika Parishad president, alleged that due to the lackadaisical approach of the administration, villagers were being forced to walk many kms to get their daily supplies. He said the administration, despite several meetings and reminders, had not budged an inch. “The administration should have at least tried to make a mule track so that people are able to transport heavier items like gas cylinders, but nothing has been done so far,” he said. On the other hand, Joshimath SDM AP Bajpayee said the road connecting villages in the Urgam valley had been opened partially and the tender process for the reconstruction of the damaged stretches had also been completed. “The department concerned has conducted a fresh survey and submitted an estimate of Rs 1.5 crore for the roads, which has also been approved. The work will begin soon and continue in the winter despite inclement weather,” said Bajpayee. The villagers said the road from Badrinath to Lambagad had been temporarily opened to small vehicles, but it still remained dangerous for travel and could be washed away by heavy rain. This could result in the Badrinath shrine being shut for visitors before its official closure on November 18. Daneshwar Dadi, Nagar Panchayat Adhyaksh, blaming power projects in the area, said due to the formation of a lake from Lambagad to Benakuli during heavy rain in mid-June, that stretch of road was completely washed away. He said till bulwarks were erected alongside the river, more damage could occur in the near future. Bajpayee said a detailed project report (DPR) on the roads and bridges on the Govind Ghat-Hemkunt Sahib route damaged in the disaster had been prepared and work would begin soon. He said the Rishi Ganga river was flowing too close to the Bamni village near Badrinath and if preventive measures were not taken soon, it could endanger the lives of the villagers. Residents of Mana village alleged that the way from the village to their fields still remained cut off due to the slow pace of work. Mahi, a resident of Mana village, said work on strengthening the embankment at the Alaknanda river, being done just below the village, was an eyewash, as instead of sand, mud was being used in the concrete mix used for strengthening the embankment, which would fail to withstand the force of the river next monsoon. Pitambar, a former gram pradhan, alleged that they had to agitate for the funds which were allocated for the strengthening the embankments under Tribal sub plan but the Zila Panchayat was only wasting the money by using substandard material for the work. He also said that most of the villagers have already incurred financial losses due to the lack of connectivity thus triggering early migration. Bajpayee said that he would look into the matter of substandard material being used and initiate action if any truth is found in the allegations. He also said that most of the vehicles struck here due to the disaster have been retrieved and sent to their respective destinations. The Dharmadhikari of the Badrinath Mandir Samiti Bhuvan Uniyal said that the road to Badrinath from Lambagad has been opened for smaller vehicles, which is a relief for all. However he was critical of the erratic electricity supply in Badrinath and said that the electricity remains shut from 8.00 pm till early morning on daily basis and was a cause of concern as the winter approaches. For regular supply of electricity, Bajpayee said he would investigate the matter and try to rectify the fault, if any, on a priority basis.
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Contractual power employees told to call off strike before talks
Dehradun, November 5 City Magistrate Jagdish Gunwant told the agitators that no talks would take place with the Chief Minister unless they called off their strike. The agitators were excited about the talks and its positive outcome after their vehement struggle and ongoing strike for several days. But, they were shocked with the outbreak of the news. Their faith in the state machinery was shattered yesterday when all the four agitators who had climbed down from the BSNL tower near Vidhan Sabha after staying there for more than two days were arrested by the police. They were later released on
bail. Manoj Pant, general secretary, Uttarakhand Power Contractual Employees Association, said: “The state government and the administration have ditched us. Earlier, we were given the message that if the agitators climbed down from the tower, the Chief Minister will be ready to talk to us. Now, when the agitators came down, we are told to call off the strike in order to hold the talks. Not only this, we were also assured by the Senior Superintendent of Police that no legal action would be taken against the four agitators if they came down, but, the police arrested them on the charges of attempt to suicide”. He said they would continue to sit on a dharna at Parade Ground. Additional District Magistrate Harak Singh Rawat said false assurances were given to the agitators to bring them down from the tower as their life was at risk. He denounced the measures adopted by the agitators in pursuance of their demands. |
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Rahul’s Nov 15 rally in Dehradun postponed
Dehradun, November 5 According to the Congress sources, the much hyped Congress party rally will be held later as the date for the rally was not confirmed by Rahul Gandhi. Moreover, it was observed that the ruling party workers wanted the rally to be held after the proposed rally of Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra
Modi. Modi will be addressing a rally at the same venue on December 15.
Uttarakhand BJP had been making efforts to bring in party workers from all across the state for Modi’s rally. The ruling Congress party leaders said the November 15 rally was postponed because Rahul Gandhi was busy in electioneering in five states, where the Asembly elections are scheduled in the year-end. The Congress party had been mobilising its party workers from across the state for the rally which aimed to negate the opposition propaganda against the state Congress Government, aftermath the mid-June natural disaster and also to highlight various welfare schemes initiated by the Central Government such as Food Security Act. The name of the rally as “Abhaar” was also aimed at paying gratitude to the Central Government for starting various pro-poor schemes. The state Congress leadership wanted to highlight several welfare schemes and steps taken by it since it came into power after the assembly polls in 2012. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and state Congress Chief Yashpal Arya are personally involved in making the rally a success. The Congress leadership felt that Modi’s rally would dampen the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s rally, so it was better to hold the rally later. “The dates are not yet confirmed and a final decision will be taken after the confirmation of the dates,” said Suryakant
Dhasmana, vice-president, state Congress. |
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Bahuguna meets Jairam on road development
Dehradun, November 5 The Chief Minister said after dealing with the mid-June disaster, the state government would boost work under the rural road programme. A finance controller would be appointed to speed up the process of getting financial sanctions. The Chief Minister also agreed to Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh’s suggestion on setting up a rural road development construction agency to speed up the construction work. He had asked the Union minister to give a quick sanction to other proposals made by the state. Many senior officials attended the meeting. |
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Panchayati Raj poll: Survey on OBCs complete
Dehradun, November 5 Under the system, the rapid survey was undertaken for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as the survey of the OBC population could not be carried out during 2011. The rapid survey pegged the total OBC population at 16,12,289. Haridwar district has the maximum number of OBC population at 7,28,279, followed by Udham Singh Nagar at 3,53,724 and Dehradun 2,16,510. As in the Haridwar district, the Panchayati Raj elections were held in 2011, it will not go to polls with the rest of the districts. Now the official notification on the number of seats being reserved under the three tier system is awaited. According to sources, around 10 Block Pramukh seats and one seat of chairman of Zila Panchayat is expected to be reserved for the OBC candidates. However, much is at stake for the prospective candidates who are keen on the Dehradun Zila Panchayat seat. In the last Panchayati Raj elections, the seat was reserved for ST candidates. The state government has already finalised a schedule for the three-tier panchayat elections for which voting would take place on December 24, 28 and 31. The elections would take place for 47,106 gram panchayat members, 7,389 gram pradhans, 89 block pramukhs, 3,060 BDC members and 12 zila panchayat members. |
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Champion declares wife as Lok Sabha candidate from Haridwar
Dehradun, November 5 Champion who recently lost his position as chairman of the Uttarakhand Forest Corporation for using allegedly unparliamentarily language against the Chief Minister, has put up hoardings proclaiming his wife Devyani Singh as the Congress party candidate from Haridwar. The photographs of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat have also been displayed on the hoardings. Union Minister Harish Rawat represents the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat, but, Champion had been demanding the Lok Sabha ticket for himself or his wife. He has put up hoardings in the entire Haridwar district, declaring his wife as the party candidate. However, the party has yet to take a decision on the ticket allocation. |
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Power corporation formulates innovative
strategy for a profitable future
Dehradun, November 5 Managing Director of PTCUL, SS Yadav said, “The Gross cumulative loss of the previous years in PTCUL is Rs 96.44 crores as recorded in March this year. By the financial year 2015-16, this cumulative loss will be wiped off with meticulous planning. From 2016-17 onwards, PTCUL's financial statements will show a net positive surplus in the balance sheet which will be utilised to pay dividend to the State Government.” He added that the PTCUL had also reduced the net interest burden on the state consumers through improvement in the credit rating, which was given by the lending agency Power Finance Corporation (PFC). PFC has upgraded the ratings of PTCUL from B to A-plus, which led to a net saving of 0.5 percent in the interest burden. Yadav also said that with the judicious use of several technical innovations, performance of the corporation would continue to improve in future. The innovations that are under consideration include development of cost-effective high-capacity transmission corridor, upgrade of transfer capacity of power transmission lines by using flexible AC transmission devices, Geographic Information System for mapping of transmission assets, multi-circuits and multi-voltage transmission lines and hotline maintenance. He said state-of-the-art Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCDA) / Energy Management System (EMS) would be introduced at State Load Dispatch Centre (SLDC). With the availability of SCDA/EMS at SLDC, the complaints often made by the officials of Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited about not gathering timely information regarding unavailability of power transmitted from outside sources or related alerts would effectively be dealt with. Besides these, Sub-station Automation System at sub-station level for load dispatch purpose on real-time basis, Energy Accounting and Optical Fibre Network for Communication & Tele-protection are other such measures in the pipeline. Yadav expressed hope that with these measures in place, factors such as reliability, stability and security of transmission system would further enhance profitability for years to come for PTCUL. |
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Bhaiya Dooj celebrated with fervour
Dehradun, November 5 The festival symbolises bond between brother and sister. The main feature of the festival is to apply a tilak of roli (vermilion) or kesar (saffron) on the brother’s forehead by the sister as a mark of their love and protection. Brothers offer gifts to their sisters on this day. The Gorkhali community in Dehradun also put rice with curd on forehead as a ritual. |
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Protest by shiksha acharyas continues
Dehradun, November 5 The protesters alleged that their repeated appeals to the state government for fulfilment of their genuine concern had fallen on
deaf ears. The association has been holding an agitation in the state capital for over 500 days in support of their demand for accommodating shiksha acharyas against the vacant positions of shiksha mitra in the state. The state government, through its government order in 2010, had adjusted 1,107 shiksha acharyas (on the basis of their seniority) against the vacant posts. However, the remaining 1,745 shiksha acharyas are yet to be given jobs.
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Pharmacists raise slogans against govt
Dehradun, November 5 The protesting pharmacists also resorted to a large-scale slogannering against the state government. They accused the government of not paying attention to their genuine concerns. The protesting unemployed pharmacists in Uttarakhand are demanding immediate filling of over 150 vacant posts of ayurvedic pharmacist under National Rural Health Scheme-aided projects in the state. They are also urging the state government to ensure the appointment of ayurvedic pharmacists in herbal companies starting operations in the state. Azad Dimri, Sunil Rana, Rajan Khatri and Arun Ramola were prominent among those who took part in today’s dharna. Meanwhile, the protest dharna at the Parade Ground entered the 51st day today.
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Autumn fest begins in Pithoragarh tomorrow
Pithoragarh, November 5 According to the district administration, programmes scheduled to be organised on the statehood day on November 9 will be held during the autumn festival only. Pithoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad chairman Jagat Singh Khati said the festival would be inaugurated by Speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly Govind Singh Kunjwal and the valedictory function would be chaired by Union Minister Harish Rawat on November 13. “The cultural bonanza will be full of surprises for the audience,” said Khati. Schoolchildren and local cultural troupes will also participate in the festival. Cultural troupes from Kathmandu, Haldwani and New Delhi will have their presentations on various nights. “On the demand of local schools, we have given maximum slots for their performances as they have no other stage than this one which comes once in a year,” said Khati. Besides the cultural programmes, the festival will also witness sports and other competitions, including a speech competition in Kumaoni language, a fancy dress competition and a Kumaoni kavi sammelan. “Quiz competitions for junior and senior students of local schools will also be organised," he said. Solo and group singing competitions and a painting competition will be the other highlights of the festival. |
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Portals of Yamunotri, Kedarnath closed
Mussoorie, November 5 The portals of the Kedarnath shrine were closed after a six-hour ritual conducted by the chief priest at 8 am while the portals of the Yamunotri shrine were closed at 1.15 pm in the presence of senior administrative officials, the local MLA and temple committee members. The chief priest of the Kedarnath temple performed special prayers after which the idol of Lord Shiva was taken out of the "garb griha" and was ornamented with complete rituals. Special ash was applied at 'Shivlingam' in the 'garb griha' during the samadhi puja. After offering the prayers, the palanquin of the lord left for its first destination at Rampur and following that the palanquin will reach at the Vishwanath temple at Guptkashi November 6. On November 7, the idol of Lord Shiva will reach the Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath and stay there for six months for winter abode. |
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108 ambulance service receives 525 calls on Diwali
Dehradun, November 5 The team was engaged in providing emergency assistance all across the state. The 108 emergency call centre received a total of 525 emergency calls, out of which 425 were related to medical emergences, seeking police assistance and brawls. “Our teams provided immediate assistance and this year our record of ‘ambulance busy’ was zero,” said Manish Tinku, head, GVK, EMRI Emergency Ambulance Service. Manish Tinku said this year the cases pertaining to arson and burns were less in comparison to last year. But there was an increase in cases pertaining to the police. The emergency ambulance teams attended 157 cases pertaining to pregnancies. A total of 390 patients were admitted to hospitals.
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Poacher, four others arrested
Dehradun, November 5 The forest authorities also recovered bones and flesh of a tigress from Vakil’s possession. The Terai forest division authorities have sent the flesh to Indian Veterinary Research Institute for test. The other four arrested are Bunty, Mohammed Shahid, Salim and Mastu. — TNS
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BPED, MPED unemployed to hold rally on Nov 8
Dehradun, November 5 The protesters decided to draw a strategy for the protest rally at the site of dharna outside Hindi
Bhawan. Sundar Dhoni, president, BPEd and MPEd Trained Unemployed Association, said they would continue their agitation till their demand for jobs in the state government schools were fulfilled. He said there were vacancies for physical education teachers in the state government schools, but the government was not filling them. |
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SHO suspended for not acting against drug trafficking
Dehradun, November 5 A preliminary inquiry had also been set up against the circle officer Mussoorie. The move follows DGP BS Sidhu’s directive to the Police Department to initiate stern action against drug trafficking. The DGP said during his October 19 and October 22 meetings, he had asked his subordinate police officers to be strict toward gang dealing with drug trafficking. In the recent times, there has been rise in the cases of drugs being sold to school children, which has caused a furore in the society. |
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45-yr-old killed by leopard
Pithoragarh, November 5 Range officer, Thal range, KS Khati, said the victim was returning home from a nearby market after purchasing material for Diwali when the incident took place. In another incident, a leopard attacked a 55-year-old man at Someswar market in Almora district. The victim, Hira Singh, has been admitted to the local hospital with injury marks on his face and neck. In yet another incident, a joint team of forest officials from UP and Uttarakhand has arrested five poachers near Haldwani for killing an eight-year-old leopard. The accused disclosed the information during their interrogation. According to the Forest Department, a total of 21 persons have been killed and 69 injured by leopards in Pithoragarh in past three years. |
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Dehradun, November 5
Dehradun, November 5
Dehradun, November 5
