UKD (A) to fight all five Lok Sabha seats
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 27
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Airy) has said it will contest from all five Lok Sabha constituencies of the state. The party had already announced the names of three candidates.

UKD president Kashi Singh Airy said at a press conference here today that they decided to contest the forthcoming general elections to provide a strong political alternative to the Congress and the BJP that had only misgoverned the state.

The party candidates are Ajay Raj (Pauri Garhwal), DD Sharma (Haridwar) and Jayprakash Upadhyay (Tehri). It could announce the candidates for the Almora and Nainital parliamentary constituencies in a few days.

Airy said they were open to collaboration with any group that wanted to fight against the Congress and the BJP. “We are open to collaboration with the regional parties which intend to fight the elections and defeat the national parties,” he added.

“The people of the state are unhappy with the treatment metted out to them by the successive governments of these two parties both in the state and at the Centre. Under these circumstances, the UKD presents itself as a viable option for the voters,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UKD announced the coordinators for various constituencies: Nathi Lal Semwal (Tehri), Lalit Bisht (Pauri), Suresh Dalakoti (Nainital) Mahesh Parihar (Almora) and Wahid Khan (Haridwar). 

Party reposes faith in the leadership of TS Panwar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar) group has reposed faith in the leadership of its president Trivendra Singh Panwar.

Informing of previous day’s working committee meeting decisions, UKD (Panwar) leader Virendra Mohan Uttarakhandi today said the executive while reposing faith in leadership of its president Trivendra Singh Panwar has also approved a proposal opposing moves to give voting rights to Tibetan refugees in Dehradun. He apprised that the executive committee has also set up disciplinary committee and its parliamentary board.

“Besides me, Manmohan Lakhera, Latafat Hussain and Shashi Bhushan have been inducted into party’s parliamentary board,'' disclosed Virendra Mohan Uttarakhandi. He said further Chowdhary Vijaypal Singh, Kisan Singh Rawat, SS Chauhan, PC Joshi, Geeta Bisht and Latafat Hussain have been appointed as members of party’s disciplinary committee.

Virendra Mohan Uttarkhandi said while there were forces in the state who want to weaken UKD (Panwar), the party members were committed to take the state into new developmental direction. He accused both BJP and Congress of fooling the people of the state. He said the party was all set to contest all the five Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Maharaj: Harish Rawat should try to save his party, govt
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
Reacting on the reported statement by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat that Satpal Maharaj, who recently defected to BJP is a ''misguided missile,'' Maharaj in a statement here today said that Harish Rawat should get ready to face the ''missile'' and try to save his party as well as his government.

Maharaj said that people of Uttarakhand will tell the Chief Minister which is a ''guided missile'' and which is a ''misguided one'' in the forthcoming general elections. Taking a dig at Harish Rawat, he said that the Chief Minister himself landed in the state as a parachute candidate and has no knowledge about missiles.

He charged that the state Congress government had been doing only lip service for the disaster affected people. Maharaj said that everyone knows that who in Parliament was raising the issues faced by the people and who had a vision for the state.

He claimed that BJP will win all the five Lok Sabha seats in the state by a thumping majority.

He further said that every other day there are reports of Chinese incursions into Indian territory and a strong leadership could prevent such things. He hoped that Narendra Modi after becoming the prime minister could provide strong leadership to the country. He announced that he would be campaigning all over the country for Narendra Modi to make him the next prime minister of the country.

BJP may have to submit to the ambitions of Maharaj
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
With eyes set on making Mission Modi for 2014 a success, the Uttarakhand Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) may have welcomed the entry of Satpal Maharaj in it’s fold but in the long run it’s leaders will have to submit to the ambitions of Satpal Maharaj, who may prove to be a difficult customer to satisfy.

While still with the Congress, Satpal Maharaj was an unchallenged leader from Pauri and had proved his mettle in the 2012 Assembly elections by garnering votes for his wife and a few of his supporters. But this reality may change with his newfound love for the new party that he has joined.

“The Uttarakhand BJP has several leaders from Pauri and Maharaj’s entry may only prove to be one among the crowd, unless the party decides to utilise his mass base at the Centre. But that, too, seems uncertain. The leaders in the BJP, including Koshiyari, Nishank and Khanduri, have successfully kept themselves engaged in both the state and Central politics,” said a senior BJP leader.

In Pauri, along with BC Khanduri, Mohan Singh Gaunwasi , even Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who is also a sitting MLA from Doiwala and is a BJP nominee from Haridwar, continue to hold sway.

To that end, the profile of Satpal Maharaj as a religious guru may have found acceptance with the ideology of BJP but politically the ambitions of Maharaj who left the Congress in a huff after allegedly being ignored by the party high command at this juncture may still remain unrealised.

“As of now, we are only focusing on achieving our goal of winning 272 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the entry of Satpal Maharaj will certainly strengthen the party as he has huge followers spread in different parts of the country,” said Teerath Singh Rawat.

While the BJP is happy with the desertion of Satpal Maharaj, it’s leaders find it exceedingly difficult to explain if they would continue to rake up the issue of allocation of poly houses by Satpal Maharaj’s wife Amrita Rawat as Cabinet minister in the Congress government. 

Security plan redrawn for Lok Sabha polls
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
The Deputy Election Commissioner (Election Commission of India) and Uttarakhand in charge, Vinod Zutshi, found the security deployment plan for the May 7 Lok Sabha polls, prepared by the state administration and police, inadequate here today.

He said the plan had been redrawn for the full utilisation of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), which would be deployed for the elections and during the counting of votes.

“The basis of the security deployment plan prepared for the polls in the state is not appropriate as it is unable to make advance preparation for the full utilisation of the force as laid down under the guidelines of the Election Commission of India. Each and every personnel of the force deployed at the polling booths have to be utilised. So, during our meeting with the officials of the districts here yesterday, a correct plan was prepared,” said Zutshi.

He said under no circumstances did the Election Commission of India reject the state’s demand for the deployment of 70 companies.

He said the Election Commission of India also directed the officials to make an adequate arrangement for providing security to the pilgrims during the Char Dham Yatra.

“The Char Dham Yatra will start at the same time, so standing instructions have been given to the officials to ensure there is no mismanagement,” he added.

He said the CAPF would be deployed inside the state and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) would be deployed at the borders.

“Prior to the elections, the CAPF will carry out area domination for instilling confidence among the villagers, so that they manage to exercise their franchise without any fear,” said Zutshi.

He said the Election Commission of India also identified vulnerable areas in the state and would keep a watch for any untoward incident.

He said the provisions of the model code of conduct would not hamper any reconstruction activity underway in the state in the disaster affected areas.

“All the District Magistrates have confirmed that the work in these areas is on course and the model code of conduct imposed in view of the Lok Sabha polls will not prove to be a hindrance,” he added.

Vijay Bahuguna faces wrath of disaster victims
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, March 28
The former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was at the receiving end as he had to face the wrath of the villagers, affected by the natural disaster, which occurred last year during his visit to Thatyur in Jaunpur development of district Tehri yesterday.

Vijay Bahuguna had come to gauge the mood of the people and his electoral prospects in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections but had to return in haste after receiving volley of questions from the disaster affected victims of the adjacent villages who are still awaiting relief.

The affected villagers who had assembled at a house of senior congress leader at Thatyur for a meeting wanted to apprise Vijay Bahuguna about the delay in restoration and relief distribution work in the region.

However, Vijay Bahuguna became agitated at the villagers who threatened to boycott Lok Sabha elections if their demand of constructing a road to their village in Masrana and Kanda Jhak, were not met. He replied by saying that he had not come to seek votes nor he was interested in contesting elections from Tehri. “I have not come here to ask for votes or to contest elections but am here with a sole purpose of hearing out the problems being faced by people and solving them” said Vijay Bahuguna.

He also said that a team led by the senior Congress leaders namely MC president Manmohan Singh Mall and senior Congress leader Jot Singh Bisht would meet the DM 
Tehri and ask him to look into the matter with utmost urgency.

Another senior Congress leader Devi Singh Chauhan, being critical of administration’s failure to provide compensation to the affected people in Tehri and the Ghansali Assembly segment as yet said that the people are agitated and are demanding immediate relief.

Later, speaking to media persons, Vijay Bahuguna informed that he had directed the secretary, disaster management, to resolve all the pending issues of the villagers on priority basis.

AAP to hold roadshow for Tehri candidate tomorrow
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is organising a roadshow in support of its Tehri parliamentary constituency candidate Anoop Nautiyal in Dehradun on March 30.

Addressing a press conference here today, AAP Dehradun district convener Sanjay Bhatt said the roadshow would begin from Shivaji Dharamshala and conclude at the AAP office at Bindal.

Bhatt said the Dehradun unit of AAP had also appointed conveners for its various cells in Dehradun to give the impetus to the election campaign in the region.

Puja Bhalla has been appointed convener of the AAP women's wing, Col Shashi Barathwal (retd) of the ex-servicemen cell, Praveen Mehta traders' cell, Jagdish Mishra medical cell, Saraswati Bisht teachers' cell, Yashvir Arya intellectual cell, Madhusudan Sundriyal cultural cell, Arif Hussain minorities cell, Uma Sisodia NGO cell, Deepak Sundriyal IT cell and Mukesh Raghuvanshi has been appointed convener of the deprived sections cell.

Meanwhile, Bhatt accused BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of ignoring the concerns of the common man.

He said the people of Uttarakhand must reject both the Congress and the BJP and ensure the victory to AAP in the state.

AAP Dehradun Mahanagar convener Sunita Singh was also present at the press conference.

Deep rift in regional outfit UKD
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, March 28
Despite being the flag bearer of separate Uttarakhand statehood movement, regional outfit Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, owing to mutual differences and petty self-interests among its leaders, is now partitioned into three outfits.

Now the regional outfit ,which was making its presence felt in Haridwar constituency,seems to bearing the repercussions of the recent turmoil.First working president AP Juyal was removed from his post by UKD Progressive central president Trivendra Singh Pawar, and later Juyal retaliated by removing Pawar from central chief post.

Party workers in Haridwar constituency are a worried lot as they had been working hard for the last few years, strengthening the base in the area.

District party leaders point out that while they had fielded and performed well during last Assembly elections in three Assembly segments,they were trying to make their strong presence felt in this parliamentary election too.

In 2009 Lok Sabha election UKD candidate Raj Kumar Saini on official party symbol of chair had garnered 5th position in the constituency.It was two spots better than its candidate Arvind.

Now the party has fielded saint candidate in Yogi Rakeshnath,who is eyeing the saint support in this election,as last time BJP had fielded saint Swami Yatindranand from Haridwar constituency ,who garnered two lakh- odd votes.

Terming the recent turmoil withing the party just before the Lok Sabha election as unfortunate, UKD central secretary (labour cell) Uday Ram Semwal said that this had surely affected the prospects of providing an alternative for Congress and BJP to voters of Uttarakhand.

Semwal said that district unit had been preparing for the Lok Sabha election,trying to join new members in the party and project UKD as alternative to the two major political parties.

"But recent developments within the party had affected the preparations in Haridwar Lok Sabha constituency.Though AP Juyal is calling on for unity he should have sunk the differences within the party's rank and file first,"said Semwal.

While youth wing city president Lalit Mamgain said that youths in large numbers were joining the UKD, ''the recent development has again jolted our drive.''

"Party leaders should stick to discipline. If Juyal convened a meeting at Kotdwar ,then he should have at least apprised the party president. Violation of discipline is not tolerated in any party. Now he is talking of unity again,"said Mamgain.

Activists who were pivotal in founding Uttarakhand Kranti Dal in the 80s are also quite dejected over the recent years rift within the party,which has led to at least three different factions of the parental body.

“Even the public wants a strong regional front in which Uttarakhand Kranti Dal can play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the hill state,”said Rana Ranbeer Singh, one of the seniormost members of UKD.

Candidates, parties will have to tackle problem of migration
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 28
Migration of villagers from their permanent homes in interior parts of the hill state, specially from the border villages, is one of the alarming problems for which the contesting candidates for Lok Sabha elections and political parties will have to answer this time.

''There are several reasons of migration from hill villages. One of the most important reasons of the problem is lack of employment facilities in the village as the traditional occupation of agricultural has turned into a losing proposition,'' said Bhagawan Singh Bisht, professor of sociology in MB PG College at Haldwani.

According to Dr Bisht, besides lack of employment facilities, lack of basic infrastructure in the villages has emerged as a major reason for the migration. “Uncontrolled menace of wild animals and destruction of crops by these herds are main reasons for migration from the hill villages,” said Bisht.

According to the researchers, where over 40 per cent population of 32 villages in Lohaghat, Barakot and Pati blocks of Champawat districts have migrated from their original villages. Villages of Darma and Johar valleys have become almost empty as no basic facilities have been provided to these villages after Independence. ''The villages in Johar valley which used to trade with Tibet during the fifties and sixties have now fully migrated to lower valleys as the occupation of trade has ended,” said Kundan Singh Tolia, former block pramukh of Munisyari block.

According to the research done by Lalit Pant, a retired economic teacher, over 9,000 people from Darma valley, 5,000 from Johar valley and more than 10,000 from interior villages of Kapkot subdivision of Bageshwar district have migrated in the last 12 years due to lack of basic facilities and means of employment. ''The respective governments after formation of the state though talked big on the issue did nothing to provide even sufficient education and health facilities in these villages,” said Pant.

Retired Lieut Gen Mohan chandra Bhandari terms this migration as bad for security at the borders of China and Nepal as the villagers there used to form the first security line against any enemy activity. ''This vital concern of providing basic facilities to border-situated villages was neither given priority after Independence nor after formation of the state despite the state being surrounded with two international borders,” said General Bhandari.

According to sociologists and researchers, the problem of migration should be given top priority by contesting political parties in thse elections as due to lack of priority to these issues in the last elections, the state's economy is gradually being affected. 

State to get 45 companies of paramilitary forces for poll
Gaurav Talwar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
The Home Ministry will be providing 45 companies of paramilitary forces or over 3600 troopers for the peaceful conduct of forthcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state scheduled to take place in a single-phase on May 7.

Ram Singh Meena, Additional Director General of Police (ADG), Law and Order, told The Tribune that Union Home Ministry has agreed on providing 45 companies of paramilitary forces and the these forces are likely to begin arriving in the state May 2 onwards.

The Tribune has learnt that the total 45 companies of paramilitary forces will comprise 9 companies of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), 5 companies of Rapid Action Force (RPG), 6 companies of Himachal Pradesh State Armed Police and 25 companies of IRB from Gujarat. It is to be noted that the operational strength of a Central paramilitary force company is about 80 troopers.

Besides the 45 paramilitary force companies, which the state will get from Central Home Ministry, the 25 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) are also being prepared for the deployment during the polls. The regular police along with home guards will also be pressed into service to maintain the law and order and ensure peaceful polls in Uttarakhand. The state police department is planning to seek more forces from the Union Home Ministry for the elections. ''We will demand 14,000 home guards from the Home Ministry for the smooth passage of elections in the state,'' said Ram Singh Meena. 

Workshop on scientific writing for pharma students
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
A one-day workshop on scientific writing was organised at the department of pharmaceutical sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Technology and Science, here today.

Nearly 75 MPharma students and the faculty participated in the workshop, which aimed at sharpening the scientific writing skills of the postgraduate students.

Addressing the gathering, head, pharmacy department, Prof (Dr) Preeti Kothiyal stressed the need of holding such workshops on a regular basis. Pharmacology Prof Vijay Thawani of the Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences explained the significance of good writing practices. 

Darma residents question need to hold panchayat poll
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 28
Residents of disaster affected Darma valley in Dharchula subdivision of this district have now questioned holding of panchayat elections in June this year as all the areas are disconnected from the main routes after last year's mid-June natural disaster.

The state Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma along with commissioner of Kumaon region and local MLA Harish Dhami yesterday visited the valley areas by helicopter and ordered the officers concerned to construct the damaged ways and bridges at Kanchoti before May 15.

According to the residents, though the voting for the Lok Sabha elections can be held at some local centres of valleys, for panchayat elections, the concerned officers will have to visit each and every panchayat body. “ It will be difficult for officers to go beyong Khet village in the valley as neither the bridge of Kanchoti, which links the three parts of the valley, nor damaged traditional routes have been repaired yet,” said Lila Bangyal, a local social worker, who returned to Dharchula after visiting disaster ravaged villages of the valley today.

“Though the secreatary has ordered construction of paths and bridges on the Darma valley routes, it is difficult to get orders implemented as the BRO has said that there are no funds and local construction agencies have been hit by non-release of budget due to election code of conduct,'' said Lila.

The additional chief secreatary has also assured the people at Dharchula that the hindrance of non-operative routes will not come in the way of supplying ration to the godowns.

According to Lila Bangyal, the deserted villages of the valley have now come into grip of leopard menace which has taken toll of over 30 yaks, the domesticated animal used multipurposely by the villagers of high Himalayan valleys. 

poll code violation
Congress for action against Ramdev
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
A delegation of the state Congress unit, led by its vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana, today met Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi and sought action against yoga guru Ramdev for allegedly violating the model code of conduct.

According to the delegation, Ramdev is openly canvassing for BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at his yoga camps.

Dhasmana alleged Ramdev was using derogatory language against present and former Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

He alleged these yoga camps were also being telecast on private channels by paying huge amounts.

The delegation comprising party spokespersons Dhirendra Pratap and Rajiv Mehrishi and former IAS officer Sunder Lal Muyal also sought action such channels.

The delegation also complained against the misuse of social media by the BJP for political purposes.

Dhasmana alleged BJP and RSS workers were misusing social media for maligning the Congress and its leaders.

Vinod Zutshi, Deputy Election Commissioner, took serious note of the complaint and assured the delegation of looking into the matter.

Chemists go on statewide protest
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
To lend support to the nationwide bandh call given by the All India Chemists' Association, the chemists in Uttarakhand observed closure of shops to protest against the government order prohibiting the sale of drugs without keeping details of salem and purchase.

Ruing the government order that would force them to keep record of life saving drugs and antibiotics, the treasurer of District Chemists' Association, Uttarakhand, Shailender Kumar Gupta, said that the government's directives would affect the TB control programme as the drugs would not be readily available.

''It is not practical to keep a record of the drugs. The government should revise the 
order,'' he said.

He said that in case the government failed to withdraw the order, the chemists would be forced to boycott the Lok Sabha elections. 

DEC rules out ration card as voter’s ID proof
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) Vinod Zutshi today ruled out the use of ration cards as identity proof by voters.

He said the issue had cropped up during a meeting with the representatives of the recognised political parties.

“The residents of the state will receive their Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) prior to the elections, the ration cards will no longer be required to serve the purpose of identification,” he said.

He said the voters who still did not receive their EPICs, could use the photo voter slips distributed by the Election Commission. If need be, the Election Commission of India might issue guidelines for including other documents for proof of identity.

The other issues that were discussed during the meeting included a prompt action against those violating the provisions of the model code of conduct and designating the office of the Chief Electoral Officer as a single window for the clearance of applications for Prachar Raths.

A committee would also keep a watch on paid news and any violations would have to be reported to the Chief Electoral Office with proof.

Experts deliver lecture on HIV/AIDS
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
A two-day peer educator’s camp organised by the Dolphin Red Ribbon Club (DRRC) concluded here today. Twenty peer educators participated in the camp. Experts delivered lectures on HIV/AIDS awareness. A voluntary blood donation camp was also organised on the occasion.

The camp was inaugurated by Dr Shailja Pant, President of the DRRC and Principal of Dolphin (PG) Institute.

In her inaugural speech, she discussed about various causes of HIV/AIDS and said the battle against the fatal disease could be won only through a complete knowledge.

Dr Gyanendra Awasthi, Secretary of the DRRC, spoke about different objectives and history of the Red Ribbon Club. He said it was for the fifth consecutive year that Dolphin institute organised the peer educator camps.

He highlighted different activities of the DRRC in the current year. A lecture was also delivered by Dr Shiv Sharan Singh on the role of anti-retroviral therapy on HIV/AIDS.

On the second day, a lecture was delivered by Rajeev Ranjan on blood safety and blood donor motivation. Aditya Swarup delivered a lecture on history of HIV/ AIDS in India.

A poster making competition was also held on the occasion. Siparna and Swati won the first position, while Saurabh and Shashank won the second position and Antonia and Lawman won the third position.

Arvind Gupta, Chairman of the DIBNS said such camps should be organised in the future as well on regular basis and the institute was prepared to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in all aspects.

Control room set up to register complaints
Tribune news service

Dehradun, March 28
In wake of the forthcoming general elections, the Director General of Income Tax (investigation), Lucknow, has set up a 24-hour control room in the state capital to register the information or complaints.

The Joint Director Income Tax (investigation), Neeta Aggarwal, said the control room was set up as per the instructions of the Election Commission of India (ECI). “The control room will cater to the complaints and information from the state,” she said.

“As per the ECI, in wake of the model code of conduct, if any individual has to carry an amount that is much higher than the income from either his private, business or any other source, he has to produce his PAN card, residential proof, proof of the money and a certificate of its use whenever demanded from any concerned official,” she added. “If any Income Tax official receives an information about such money, then on the basis of the Income Tax Act, 1961, he can seize the money or and inform the ECI,” she said.

Training in personality enhancement
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, March 28
A three-day workshop on personality enhancement and management began here today at Gayatri Shantikunj.

Dr Pranav Pandya, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Gayatri Family, Shantikunj, said to develop personality one needs to give impetus on spiritual aspect, inner thoughts, devotion, dedication and patience.

He said human beings have vast inner hidden powers and capacity, which they need to realise and bring it out.

He said even epic Bhagwad Gita stressed on inner awakening, development and patience. Participants from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are taking part in the workshop.

Array of activities mark end of annual fest

Dehradun, March 28
The two-day annual Techno-Cultural-Management Fest of SelaQui Academy of Higher Education (SAHE) concluded here today. A large number of students from different colleges and institutions participated in the fest.

WWF observes Earth Hour today
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
The Dehradun chapter of the World Wildlife Fund will observe the ‘Earth Hour’ on March 29 by switching off non-essential lights for one hour from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Giving the details Dr Jatinder Kaur, Coordinator of WWF-India, Dehradun, said the Earth Hour was a global campaign inspiring individuals, business, institutions and organisations around the world to unite and take action against climate change.

“Started in Sydney in 2007, India became a part of the campaign in 2009. Since then, the non-essential lights of iconic monuments like Rashtrapati Bhawan, Gateway of India, India Gate and Victoria Memorial, along with several others are switched off in its support,” she said. “We will be taking out a candle march as a part of the campaign in FRI along with several students, NCC cadets and faculty members,” she added.

Film festival dedicated to women well received by audience
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
A film festival dedicated to the struggle and emancipation of women held today at the survey auditorium and organised by Mahila Samakhya Uttarakhand and Violence against Women Network was well received by the audience.

During the opening session Hindi film ''Bawandar'' was screened to a full house. The film’s attributes focusing on sexual harassment touched a chord with the audience comprising mostly women.

Later at the open house discussion on the film, several issues were raised especially the conflict that a woman faces after facing sexual harassment, “It has become a vicious practice that continues to grow with no solution in sight,” said Geeta Gairola of Mahila Samakhya.

In the second session the documentary film ''Meera'' focused on female education and directed by Sanjay Khairwal and followed by Mahesh Bhatt’s ''Arth'' was screened.

Shedding light on the theme of the film, writer Vikas Narayan said that both the wife and the mistress try to break the barriers set by society. “This society is very critical of women and seldom guarantees security to them but it is equally vehement in it’s opposition when the women break the set moulds and strike out on their on,” said Narayan.

Experts worried at the declining child sex ratio
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
Experts today voiced concern at the declining child sex ratio (0-4 years) where population of female children in the state is sharply coming down, pointing towards the poor implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Technique Act (1994) in the state.

“The district of Haridwar is at number one position among the nine states in the country that have worst child sex ratio and it is a matter of shame that the pilgrim city has acquired the dubious distinction in this regard. The girl child continues to be unwanted,” said Dr Prem Lal, Director, National Programme, Department of Medical, Health and Family Welfare, while speaking today at a inter sectoral state level workshop on PC PNDT Act.

He said that the mindset of society needs to be changed to ensure that the natural balance is not disturbed “so that the girl child is equally welcomed and nurtured,” said Lal.

On the other hand Dr Saroj Naithani, Joint Director, National Programme and State Nodal Officer, PCPNDT, said that equally worrisome was the declining child sex ratio in the districts of Tehri, Pauri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Nainital.

“While comparing the annual health survey 2011 and annual health survey 2012 reports, there has been a negative growth of -13 for Tehri, -15 for Pauri, -6 for Rudraprayag and -1 for Haridwar,” said Dr Naithani. 

Training in bamboo processing concludes
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
A three-day-training on "Bamboo processing and product making" for artisans and small-scale manufactures of Himachal Pradesh organised at the common facility centre of the Forest Research Institute concluded here yesterday.

It was organised to train artisans and small-scale manufacturers from Himachal Pradesh on bamboo processing, seasoning, preservation and handicraft making for value addition and livelihood generation.

Dr Sadhana Tripathy, head, forest products division, FRI, said the participants were given practical demonstrations on the chemical treatment of bamboo using urea and ammonia fumigation technique. Artisans were also trained in preparing products like mats, baskets, trays, vases, table frames and other household items.

Activities like colouring, weaving and fine splitting of bamboo were also taught. The participants were also trained in bamboo processing machines like cross-cutter, slicer, node remover and splitter.

The training programme was sponsored by the Forest Department, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

Livestock healthcare, fish farming, poultry development camp 
Farmers told to use animal medicines judiciously 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
The Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, (CSWCRTI, ICAR), Dehradun, organised a livestock healthcare, fish farming and poultry development camp at village Langha in Vikasnagar block of Dehradun district under the technology development, extension and training (TDET) scheme funded by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India.

Dr BL Dhyani, Principal Investigator (PI) of the project and Principal Scientist (Agricultural Economics), Dr Bankey Bihari, Principal Scientist (Agricultural extension), Dr M. Muruganandam, Sr. Scientist (Fisheries), Dr D Mandal, Sr Scientist (Soil Science) of CSWCRTI, Dehra Dun interacted with the participants.

Dr Dhyani highlighted the importance of coordination between farmers, state line departments and the Central research and developmental organisations like CSWCRTI for improved agriculture and livestock production. Dr Mandal briefed the inter-linkages between agriculture, livestock and soil fertility. Dr Bankey Bihari spoke on the social issues of livestock production. The coordinator of the camp, Dr M Muruganandam, requested farmers to use the animal medicines provided judiciously and adopt improved sanitation practices.

A team of veterinary doctors and officers, including Dr Satish Joshi, veterinary doctor, Vikasnagar from Uttarakhand State Animal Husbandry Department, Dehradun, participated in the camp and addressed the farmer participants. In the camp, veterinary medicines, feed supplements like mineral-vitamin mix, calcium powder, liver tonic, de-worming tablets, sanitary solution, and medicines for sick animals and improving milk yields and meat production were distributed free of cost under the project.

Dr Joshi and his group of veterinary officers diagnosed animals and prescribed medicines and medications. About 150 farmers, farm women, local leaders and panchayat persons from Rudrapur and Sorna Gram Panchayat of Vikasnagar community development block participated in the camp. Over 1200 animals belonging to many Gujjars and local farmers were benefited from the camp. Sick animals were screened and diagnosed for various problems.

Tattooing: Admn sends medical team to assess situation 
Parwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
Taking action on the news report published by The Tribune, highlighting the high risk of devotees attending the Jhanda Mela getting infected with HIV after getting tattooed from the roadside tattoo makers, the district administration sent a medical team to assess the situation.

In the report submitted to the District Magistrate BVRC Purshottam, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Gurpal Singh has stated: “During the inspection carried out on the shopkeepers engaged in tattoo making and ear piercing, it has been found that the needles used in the process are non-sterilised and used on several persons without being cleaned or changed. The entire process puts the customers prone to getting infections such as tetanus, HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis. It is therefore suggested that a ban should be placed on these shops with immediate effect.”

It may be recalled that in its report published on March 23rd, The Tribune had reported how these shopkeepers in their bid to make a quick buck are putting the lives of their customers in risk.

After getting the design finalised by the customer, the tattoo maker dips the tip of his machine into a colour palette, comprising of acrylic colours, and digs into his customers skin to create tattoos. Once the tattoo is complete, a dirty cloth kept nearby cleans the oozing blood from the tattoo. While the charges for a tattoo varies from Rs 10-100, depending on the design, the ear and nose piercing is done at a cost of Rs 20 only. 

Sanskrit language a symbol of Indian culture

Haridwar, March 28
A Sanskrit language debate competition was organised at Dev Sanskriti University here today.

Dr Chinmaya Pandya, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university, said Sanskrit language was the symbol of our ancient Indian culture, so Sanskrit should be propagated more to conserve our Indian culture. Prof Radhe Shyam Chaturvedi, head of the Sanskrit Department, said Sanskrit was fast becoming popular in the country, particularly in Uttarakhand, which is becoming an educational-learning centre.

Rahul Pokhriyal, a student of Shri Bhagwan Das Adarsh Sanskrit Maha Vidyalya, was adjudged the winner of the debate, while Deepti Arya and Nandini Rathore, students of Kanya Gurukul, Dehradun, won the second and the third position respectively. — TNS

Tiwari hopeful of getting Cong ticket from Nainital
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, March 28
Congress leader ND Tiwari is hopeful of getting the party ticket from the Nainital constituency.

However, he evaded answering a question on whether he would contest as an Independent candidate if he is denied the Congress ticket. Tiwari, who is on the last leg of his 10-day tour of the constituency to take people’s blessings for him and his son Rohit Shekhar, expressed concern over the lack of development in Nainital and US Nagar.

Thieves held within 24 hrs of crime
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
With in 24-hours of a theft incident in a mobile shop in Sahaspur, the police claimed to have arrested the thieves and recovered the stolen valuables from their 
possession.

The thieves broke into the mobile shop of Firoz Khan at Khushalpur on Wednesday night and took mobiles, computers and other accessories from the shop.

According to the Sahaspur police, they got a tip-off about the location of the thieves and arrested Rashid and Nadeem and recovered the stolen valuables from them.

Both the thieves are said to be the residents of Sahaspur. 

Prostitution racket busted

Dehradun, March 28
A prostitution racket operating from a hotel in Sahaspur has been busted with the arrest of two girls and five other persons here today. The police also recovered a large quantity of adult magazines and CDs from hotel rooms. Reportedly, the Sahaspur police was getting constant complaints about the flourishing prostitution business in one hotel at Dharamawala Chowk and on Friday.

A team led by Circle Officer (CO) Swapan Kumar raided the hotel and arrested the girls and customers on a tip-off. ''We got information that two girls along with five customers are staying in the hotel and on Friday morning the hotel was raided and the ongoing racket was busted,'' said one official. The owner of the hotel managed to escape from there before police raided the hotel premises. — TNS

25-yr-old man dies under mysterious circumstances
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
A 25-year-old man, working in a dairy, died under mysterious circumstances in the Nehru Colony Police Station area here today.

According to the Nehru Colony police, the deceased identified as Vikas Ghildiyal, who originally hails from Satpuli, was working in a dairy at Nehru Colony for the last couple of months. He used to stay in the servant quarters in the backyard of the dairy.

The dairy belonged to an official of the Forest Department, who was posted in Pauri. On the other hand, the family of the victim was claiming that Vikas committed suicide because he used to get exploited by the dairy owners. Though, the police did not find any suicide note from the spot.

The body has been sent for a postmortem. 

Villagers protest killing of man by tiger

Dehradun, March 28
Villagers in the Corbett region yesterday staged a protest demanding the caging of a tiger that killed a man at Dhikuli recently.

The agitated villages also gheraoed the Corbett warden, Satish Upadhayaya.

Upadhayaya told the villagers that they had increased patrolling in the area and cameras had been installed to the track the movement of the tiger. Cages had also been put up at appropriate places. — TNS

COER in finals of Twenty20 tournament
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 28
ICFAI University and College of Engineering, Roorkee (COER), have entered into the finals of the ongoing Shiwalik Twenty20 Cricket Tournament after winning their semifinal matches played at Rangers College Ground here today.

In the first semifinal match, ICFAI University defeated Shiwalik Cricket Club by 5 runs. ICFAI elected to bat first after winning the toss and scored 112 runs with Vivek and Dipanshu scoring 19 runs each. Rahul also played a small cameo of 18 runs while the team could not play the whole 20 overs and were all out at 17th over. In reply, Shiwalik team failed to achieve the target and the team managed to score 107 runs in 20 overs. For ICFAI, Vivek took 5 wickets against Shiwalik.

While in the second semifinal match, COER trounced UPES by 5 wickets. Batting first, UPES displayed good batting performance and scored 141 runs in 20 overs at the loss of 5 wickets. Madhur played brilliant innings of 56 runs followed by Akshay who scored 23 runs. For UPES, Ankit and Ankush took 1 wicket each. During the chase, COER got off to a good start with opener Rohit playing a brilliant innings of 40 runs followed by sturdy innings by other batsmen. The innings of Nipun and Ayush easily took their team to the victory with 5 wickets still in hand.