Footpath encroachments to be removed following HC order
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
Taking a strong note of the directions from the Nainital High Court regarding the removal of encroachments from footpaths, the district administration is now eyeing the removal of every hindrance on the footpath, including the temples that have either come up or extended their building on the walkway.

It may be recalled that responding on the Public Interest Litigation filed by a leader of the Uttarakhand Jan Mancha, Manmohan Singh Lakhera, the Nainital High Court had ordered removal of encroachments from footpaths in the state capital. In the PIL, Lakhera said: ''The footpaths were created in the city to facilitate walking space for the commuters. However, the footpaths have been encroached upon either by shopkeepers or hawkers and vendors. As a result, commuters have to walk on the busy roads and this leads to accidents.''

A similar drive was carried out in the month of June last year. However, despite removal of encroachments the situation was back to square one and even worse. Few days ago, following the orders of the HC, president of the Dehradun District Bar Association was appointed as the Chairman and asked to submit a report on the progress within eight weeks.

Getting into action a team headed by the District Magistrate-cum-Mukhya Nagar Adhikari BVRC Purshottam a plan was drawn and the city divided into four zones. It covered Clock Tower Chowk, Rajpur Road, Dilaram Bazaar, Chakrata Road, Darshan Lal Chowk, ISBT, Paltan Bazaar and Tehsil area.

Speaking to The Tribune, Purushottam said that they would be looking into the temples that have encroached the footpaths. ''For us anything obstructing the footpath is to be removed, whether it is a shop, kiosk, construction or a temple. We would be conducting a survey soon of the temples. If it were found encroaching the walkways, the construction would be removed, irrespective of the fact whether it is a place of worship or otherwise,'' he added.

Rotary International fails to fulfil promise of rebuilding schools
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
At the time of the 2013 flash floods several social organisations had come in hordes to lend support to the reconstruction of primary and upper primary schools that bore the brunt of ensuing landslides. Rotary International was one such organisation that promised to rebuild three schools in Rudraprayag but more than four months have elapsed, the organisation has little to show, forcing the Uttarakhand School Education Department to revisit the memorandum of understanding signed with the Rotary International.

With the monsoon season just a few months away and the rebuilding of schools entrusted to Rotary International yet to take off, the School Education Department has now taken things in its own hands and limited the role of Rotary International to just providing furniture in the three schools at Chameli, Panjiyari and Kunjiya in the Rudraprayag district, that was at the scene of worst devastation.

''We cannot expose our children to the vagaries of the weather, especially the monsoon which is quite severe in the state. The schools have to be built before the monsoon sets in. Unfortunately, Rotary International failed to deliver despite reminders by the Chief Secretary. So we have decided to hand over the construction of the schools to the school management committees in Rudraprayag,'' said Radhika Jha, project director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

An amount of Rs 10 crore sanctioned by the Central Government for carrying out rebuilding schools in the state which the Department of School Education very wisely put away, came handy. ''Though several organisations had volunteered to come to the aid of our schools, we were little skeptical and decided not to return the Rs 10 crore sanctioned by the Central Government for carrying out rebuilding activity. If we had returned the money to the Central Government, it would have lapsed. But before March 31, we managed to sanction a part of it for carrying out the rebuilding of schools in Rudraprayag,'' said Jha.

The Department of School Education had earmarked a total of 175 primary and upper schools partially and fully damaged schools in the districts of Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag requiring rebuilding. Out of this 81 are in Rudraprayag and 94 in Uttarkashi.

While Rotary International has failed to deliver on its promises, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has begun construction of four schools in Tehri while survey is on for four other schools.

Excitement, adventure for students of Ecole Globale
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
The students of Ecole Globale, Dehradun, had a rare treat in store for them when they held a camp at Mal Devta near Dehradun during their mid-term vacations. Essentially a mid-term trip for some, most of the senior students sought to complete their 28-km  trek which was one of the compulsory components of the IAYP (International Award for Young People) that they were all working towards.

The fun element came when they all joined hands to cook and eat a meal under the sky. Street plays, rifle shooting and raft building made up the rest of the adventur.

The unpredictable weather of course added to the excitement.

“A fantastic end to the hectic academic year,” said Trisha Malhotra, one of the students. Though the trek was strenuous, it really got us all going. The students are really an adaptable bunch. Their enthusiasm made the whole exercise an enjoyable exercise,” said Aastha, one of the organisers.

Devotees throng temples on Ram Navami in Doon
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
Ram Navami, a religious festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, was celebrated in the state capital today. Ending their nine-day-long fast of Chaitra Navratri, devotees thronged temples and offered the prasad to little girls and boys.

Since early morning, temples were decorated with flowers and lights to welcome devotees, who after worshipping the deity would open their fast.

PAC deployed along border areas
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, April 8
With the second and third phase of elections in western Uttar Pradesh falling on April 10 and 17, elaborate security arrangements have been put in place along the bordering areas by the police.

From today, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) has been deployed at 19 check points by Haridwar SSP Sadanand Date.

At all the barriers falling on border areas of Bhagwanpur, Gurukul Narsan and Lakshar tehsil, round the clock PAC and Uttarakhand Police personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth and fair conduct of elections.

Four companies of Provincial Armed Constbulary along with 19 Sub-Inspectors and 40 Constables of the Uttarakhand Police have been deputed. Regular checking of vehicles would be done at these checking barriers and an alert has also been made at nearby villages, urging villagers to inform the police of any anti-social element or activity that may affect the smooth flow of the election process. SSP Date said in the last two days, verification of 9,982 people hailing from outside the state was done, and under the Weapons Act, 21 people were arrested.

Nutritionists discuss importance of balanced diet
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
To mark World Health Day today, Max Super Speciality Hospital (MSSH), Dehradun, organised an annual dietetics meet.

The meet was conducted by Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics at MSSH, discussed current trends of nutrition in India. It was attended by doctors, nutritionists, dieticians and general public.

Nutritionists from various hospitals of Max Healthcare also gathered at the event and discussed food allergies, therapeutic nutrition, nutrition in critical care and gestational diabetes.

During the occasion, MSSH also organised a master chef competition, the hunt for the most nutritious recipe. Over 25 people from Max Hospital and Dehradun Women’s Committee participated in the competition.

Uma Singh who prepared ‘Amla Ladoo’ received the award for the most nutritious recipe-sweet while Yama Sharma who prepared ‘Dahi Kebab’ received the award for the most nutritious recipe-salty.

Speaking at the meet, Meetu Rastogi, clinical nutritionist at MSSH, Dehradun, briefed the audience about therapeutic nutrition and its relevance for patients. She said various studies have proven that if the body became deficient in certain nutrients, illness could occur. By replenishing the missing nutrients, it was sometimes possible to prevent, reverse, or slow down an illness.

Therapeutic nutrition refers to the use of food and the nutrients it contains to prevent or treat a disease. It is a healing approach towards treatment of ailments and their associated symptoms through a specifically customised diet devised and monitored by a nutritionist. The diet is based upon the patient’s medical history, physical and functional examination and dietary history

Gaurav Rekhi, GM-operations, MSSH, Dehradun, said the purpose of meet was to inform people about the common nutritional needs that they often tend to neglect due to their lifestyle that could lead to significant nutritional deficiencies causing major ailments at a later stage.

In the meet, nutritionists discussed some common food allergies like milk allergies, allergies to wheat, seafood, eggs, alcohol, etc and how people can identify them and deal with them.

Doctors also discussed about gestational diabetes, which is one of the most common health problems of pregnancy, affecting 2-10 percent of expectant mothers. Eating a well-planned diet is the first step towards controlling gestational diabetes. Expectant mothers must opt for nutritional counselling from a registered dietician/nutritionist, who develops a specific meal and snack plan based on the patient’s medical history, month of pregnancy and activity level.

Two Doon students come up with vehicle speed alert device 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
In a major breakthrough, two students of Dehradun have come up with an automobile speed alert device to check speedy driving on the part of youngsters.

Himanshu Chawla and Vijay Singh, both students of Maya Institute of Technology and Management (MITM), SelaQui, Dehradun, have invented an automobile speed alert device, which controls the speed of the vehicle for safety and thus gives a chance to the parents to keep a check on the speed of their teenagers' vehicles.

''This device is programmed in such a way that it automatically generates a message or a calling on the mobile to the parents warning about your teenager's bike speed, if the speed goes above 60 km per hour,'' Himanshu Chawla pointed out.

It is a device that is fixed to the bike and whenever the person crosses the speed limit of the vehicle, SMS is generated and sent to the parent's registered number. This device will cost around Rs 3000 if manufactured in bulk.

Vijay Singh and Himanshu Chawla presented their device on Tuesday in officers' club, ONGC, Dehradun, in front of eminent people like Dehradun's Assistant Regional Transport Officer RP Rathore, Ex Deputy General Manager, ONGC, Subhimal Kar, and Director of MITM Ravi Juyal.

RP Rathore appreciated the work done by Himanshu Chawla and Vijay Singh and presented a memento of appreciation to them. Cases of deaths of teenagers in road mishaps in Dehradun have been recently on the rise due to over speeding.

32 BPEd students from Allahabad call upon Governor Qureshi at Raj Bhavan
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
A team of 32 BPEd students from the Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Allahabad, met Governor Aziz Qureshi at Raj Bhavan today.

The students are on a 10-day tour of Uttarakhand. The students told the Governor that the Ganga had become so polluted in Allahabad and Varanasi that it could not be compared to that of Haridwar and Rishikesh.

The Governor wished the students all the best for their future and said they should resolve to work for cleaning the Ganga in Allahabad, so that the river could be saved. The students were accompanied by Dr LN Joshi, Dr Sunita B John, Dr Arpita Joshi, Dr Ajay Kumar and Dr Anuj.

Efforts on to start mini Char Dham Yatra
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, April 8
The Hotel and Restaurant Association has taken the onus on itself to promote tourism in the state that was affected badly due to the natural disaster that struck last year by planning to start mini Char Dham Yatra during the winter season too.

The president of Hotel and Restaurants Association of Uttarakhand Sandeep Sahni speaking to mediapersons at a hotel in Mussoorie said that the association along with the Tourism Department was planning to introduce various measures to bring back the state in the tourism map of the country.

He further said that the association with the government was planning to start mini Char Dham Yatra during the winter months when the portals of the four most revered shrines by the Hindus remain shut on an annual basis so that the tourists can visit the state all year round without any hindrance.

Sandeep Shani said that the tourism had been affected badly in the state due to the natural disaster and the it has become imperative that all stakeholders should come forwards and contribute towards bringing back the economy that is based on tourism back on track.

He further informed the mediapersons that the members of the association along with the Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar, Deputy Director Vivek Chauhan would tour Ahmedabad and Mumbai beginning Wednesday to promote more tourists in the state during summer holidays.

''We will be meeting tour operators in the two cities and request them to operate tours without any fear in the state as things were returning fast towards normalcy,'' said Sandeep Sahni. Sandeep Sahni said that they were working on the project to promote winter tourism by promoting the winter bodes of the gods and godesses in the state as important tourist destinations.

Spinal injury centre inaugurated at Rishikesh

Dehradun, April 8
The first ever holistic spinal and physiotherapy centre was inaugurated on World Health Day at Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh, today.

The centre a brainchild of renowned spine surgeon and foemer president of the Association of Spine Surgeons of India, Dr Shekar Bhojraj, Mumbai, came into existence after his wife, Dr Shilpa Bhojraj and their team arrived here for a trek to the Himalayas, a few months back.

The first phase of the centre inaugurated here would be equipped with latest machinery along with a general physician and services such as dental, eye, ayurvedic, acupuncture, physiotherapy OPDs, operation theatre, etc.

Dr Shekar Bhojraj speaking on the occasion said, “I am happy to commence such a project on the holy banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh. It is a great honour to be able to serve the people of the Himalayas and northern India with a spinal clinic, which will provide surgeries and provide rehabilitation services as well.” — TNS

Fire Dept begins inspection drive 
Tribune News service

Mussoorie, April 8
The Fire Department inspected the hotels and other business installations to ensure fire safety prior to the fire season in Mussoorie today.

The department officer Mahipal Singh visited several hotels and was livid at seeing that that some hotel owners had not installed the equipment installed for fire safety as per guidelines. He warned the erring hotel owners to upgrade the fire equipment without any delay or the department would be forced to take punitive action. He also directed the hotel owners to create a safe passage gallery for the tourists so that they can be rescued in case of any fire incident.

Shri Ram Centennial School inaugurated

Dehradun, April 8
The Shri Ram Centennial School (SRCS) was inaugurated on the occasion of Ram Navami at Sherpur near here today.

Chairman of the school Anil Garg lighted the lamp with Aarav, the first student to take admission in the school. Addressing a gathering, executive director Jayant Hari Har Lal spoke about the vision and mission of the school.

In his speech, Principal Sanjiv Bathla stressed upon the educational practises that give an insight into the dynamic curriculum of the school.

“The SRCS emphasises excellence in academics, career development and co-curricular programmes to foster intellectual, emotional and physical well-being of each student. The school offers an excellent infrastructure and is well-equipped to create an appropriate ambiance for nurturing the children to face new challenges,” he added. — TNS

Navratri concludes with worship of Siddhidatri deity

Haridwar, April 8
The nine-day festival of the pious Navratri concluded today, with worshipping of Siddhidatri deity.

With today being the birthday of Lord Rama, popularly known as Shri Ram Navami, devotees observed fast, thronged temples and chanted hymns of Lord Rama.

Religious gurus shed light on the importance of Navratri festival and Shri Ram Navami,urging people to follow the ideals of Lord Rama. Today many devotees broke their Navratri fast on Navami by offering specially made food to young girls at their homes and temples.

At Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, Mata Mansa Devi, Mata Chandi Devi, Mata Sureshwari Devi, Maya Devi, Mata Sheetla, Mata Devi, Mata Vaishno Devi, Mata Dakshin, Kaleshwar Peeth, Mata Shakumbari Devi, Tulsi Manas Mandir ,Vivek Vihar Raj Rajeshwari temple and at other temples, devotees paid obeisance ,worshipping deity Siddhidatri and Lord Rama.

At Dev Sanskriti University a special function was held at Mrityunjay auditorium in which spiritual guru Pranav Pandya addressed the devotees.

Pandya said that those who have love,compassion and purity have the traits of saints, and ''we should ensure that we don't fall into the trap of evil, greed or other worldly attachments.'' — TNS

Ram Navami celebrated with fervour in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, April 8
Ram Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama, was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in and around Mussoorie today.

The devotees dressed in colourful attire visited various temples in the town and joined in the special puja and havan to mark the occasion here.

A large number labourers from Bihar and Nepal working in the town also participated in the puja.

MAa Mussoorie Ganesh Joshi greeted the people on the occasion and participated in the havan and puja ceremony at Shiva Temple in Vijay colony in the Mussoorie Assembly segment.

Ganesh Joshi speaking on the occasion said that lord Rama was not only the ideal of the Hindus in India but that of the devotees around the world.

The Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall also greeted the people of Mussoorie on the occasion.

The temple around the town was buzzing with various religious activities since morning and the darshan of the Lord Rama continued until late evening.

BSP’s Haji Islam faces an uphill task in Haridwar 
Suspension of 2 party legislators has caused a crisis for him
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, April 8
Despite Bahujan Samaj Party naming Haji Islam as party candidate for Haridwar parliamentary seat months ago, his election campaign is facing hurdles. This is much to do with the recent decision by party state president of suspending two heavyweight party legislators Surendra Rakesh(Bhagwanpur) and Hari Das(Jhabreda).

Surendra Rakesh is currently Cabinet Minister for Transport in Congress- led state government, while Hari Das, prior to suspension, was leader of BSP in state Assembly.

Since the day both were suspended, Haji Islam is facing a crisis of party workers as well as public in his meetings. Even Haji's proposed road show at various places like Haridwar, Roorkee, Mangalore, Narsain, Bahadrabad and Bhagwanpur have not taken place as these were the places where both the suspended legislators have substantial influence.

Haji Islam’s two political rallies in Haridwar last week have flopped, with barring a dozen-odd party cadre activists, the empty chairs pointed to the sorry state of affairs of BSP candidate election campaign..

Hailing from Bharapur Bhauri village, Haji Mohammed Islam is a Jojha Muslim and his candidature was linked with the substantial presence of Muslims in the constituency.

Notably, Haji Islam was a replacement candidate as BSP had previously named Dr Antriksh Saini, as its Haridwar seat candidate in early 2012 itself, who almost for one year remained active in the constituency.

On this party state president Megh Raj Zaravare said that suspension of both the legislators was done in the party's interest as they were indulging in anti-party activities.

Refuting low turnout of public and weak campaign of Haji Islam in Haridwar constituency, Zaravare said that BSP did not believe in road shows,media advertisements and star campaigners.

"Instead we rely on our grassroot worker,social engineering,issues that touch voters and in later stage party supreme Mayawati will be holding election meetings for Islam in Haridwar.We are much stronger on grass root , though other parties are just trying to hog themedia limelight with their road show campaigns,"said Zaravare.

Veteran BSP leader Suraj Mal said that the suspension of both the legislators has in fact worked well for the party favour as they both just enjoyed perks of power but did nothing much for the Assembly segment voters.

"Now voters don't ask our candidate of the non-presence of Surendra Rakesh and Hari Das in their segments as people know they are no longer a part of Bahujan Samaj Party.We are surely gettting good response from public and hope to wrest this seat from Congress,"said a confident Suraj Mal.

Reacting to the suspension, both the legislators blamed BSP's downfall in Uttarakhand.

"Zaravare and Raj Bhar have no knowledge and sense of political affairs of the hill state. They just come as tourists here and act as if Uttarakhand is a sub dynasty of UP,"said Rakesh.

Cabinet Minister for Transport Surendra Rakesh lamented that he along with Hari Das have been for the past decade involved in strengthening the Bahujan Samaj Party cadre in Uttarakhand, but party supreme Mayawati has been misguided by these two UP based leaders.

Notably, in the last parliamentary election BSP candidate Mohammed Shahzad remained third behind eventual winner Harish Rawat and BJP candidate Swami Yatindranand Giri Maharaj.In 2012 Assembly election Bahujan Samaj Party slipped to just three seats from the previous (2007) tally of six seats.

Vote for parties that work for state agitators’ goals: Kunjwal
Our correspondent

Pithoragarh, April 8
Speaker of the state Assembly Govind Singh Kunjwal has said voters in Uttarakhand should vote for those parties which have been working for the basic issues for which the state was formed 13 years ago.

Kunjwal told mediapersons in Pithoragarh town today that several parties had deviated from the agenda of the statehood activists who sacrificed their lives during the agitation for a separate state of Uttarakhand. “The time has come that the voters of the state should come forward to vote against those who have betrayed the statehood agitators,” said Kunjwal.

Asked if he is not violating the protocol of the Speaker by openly campaigning for a particular party, Kunjwal said he was not canvassing for any party and maintaining the dignity of his constitutional post. “Some people had even made it an issue when I had gone to meet the Chief Minister to take up the problems of my people with him during his visit to my constituency,” said Kunjwal. 

Candidates to be given coloured page register for keeping record
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
For the first time, the candidates fighting the 2014 Lok Sabha elections will be using coloured page register for keeping the record of their day-to-day electoral expenditure.

“The register being provided by the Election Commission of India has been been divided into three sections. Section A has white pages in which the candidate will make daily entries. In section B with pink pages, daily cash transactions will be recorded and in the last section having yellow pages, the details of bank transactions will be recorded. Besides making daily entries, the candidates will have to provide the register for inspection to the returning officer or the poll observer,” said Radha Raturi, Chief Electoral Officer.

This arrangement was in place during the 2012 Assembly elections as well as now it has been extended for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

These registers have made things easier for the candidates and the returning officers who can easily locate the particular sections without going through the entire 
register.

“For location and easy access, the option of coloured pages will make things convenient for both the candidates and the returning officers. It will also enhance functionality and encourage better monitoring,” said Raturi.

All pages of the expenditure register will be serialised and the first and the last pages will carry the certifications of the returning officer.

“The daily register expenditure will carry nine columns. The candidate will have to make daily entries, including the cash received from political parties and also cash or donations from individuals,” said Raturi.

After the distribution of the election symbols, the returning officers will hold a meeting with the candidates and the polling agents regarding expenditure.

“Any option introduced by the Election Commission for better record keeping shall be welcomed.,” said Mala Raj Laxmi Shah, BJP candidate from Tehri.

BJP chief objects to Kunjwal campaigning for Cong
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
Uttarakhand BJP president Teerath Singh Rawat has taken exception to Govind Singh Kunjwal, Speaker of the state Assembly, campaigning with Chief Minister Harish Rawat for the Congress.

"The Speaker should not indulge in partisan politics as he is holding a constitutional post. He should not indulge in petty politics. We will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission," said Teerath Singh Rawat.

He said since taking over the reigns of the government Chief Minster Harish Rawat had failed to rein in the bureaucracy. 

BJP may benefit from polarisation of votes Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
The BJP could be the biggest gainer in at least two parliamentary seats of Nainital and Haridwar if polarization of votes as was witnessed in the plains of Uttarakhand during the 2012 Assembly elections continues in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections as well.

The last Assembly elections in the state were held against the backdrop of the sectarian riots at Rudarpur in Udham Singh Nagar district. The riots in October 2011 involved large scale arson and violence and had a lasting impact on the minds of the voters. The BJP benefited from the polarization of votes in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts in the 2012 Assembly elections. It won seven of the nine seats in Udham Singh Nagar district. Both Congress and BSP that were heavily banking to the voters in the district for their success in the elections eventually ended up losers. Some political heavyweights from the Congress and the BSP like Tilak Raj Behad, Premanand Maharaj and Narayan Pal lost the elections. The BJP secured 36 per cent of votes in Udham Singh Nagar district.

The situation in other key Haridwar district in the plains was no better. The BJP here bagged 12 Assembly seats. It had won just four seats in the 2007 Assembly elections in the district. This amply revealed that the polarisation of votes helped the BJP though the Congress managed to come to power in the state with a wafer-thin majority.

Now, the recent communal riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh could again have its ramifications in Haridwar district as well. They could lead to the polarization of votes in the plains and damage the electoral prospects of the Congress in the process.

The two parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, Saharanpur and Bijnore, where the BJP has fielded alleged Muzaffarnagar riot accused as candidates, share border with Uttarakhand. One of the alleged accused was even found hiding in Dehradun after the riots. Under such circumstances, the Haridwar constituency too could go the BJP way. Uttarakhand BJP leaders are already trying to cash in on the Pherupur rape case in Haridwar where a Dalit was the victim and a member of the minority community was the alleged accused.

Narendra Modi as the BJP prime ministerial candidate is seemed to have polarized the votes and made the party’s task easy. The polling in western Uttar Pradesh will take place on April 10 and the focus of leaders from the neighbouring state could now shift to Uttarakhand. Sources reveal that the BJP could bring in some of its western Uttar Pradesh leaders to campaign in Haridwar.

“The BJP has a history of dividing society on communal lines and it may again try to vitiate the atmosphere,” said Anil Maikhuri, a CPI (ML) leader in Uttarakhand.

BJP ropes in poets to garner votes
Tribune News service

Mussoorie, April 8
The BJP as part of its nationwide election campaign yesterday organized a kavi sammelan at Jaitanwala falling in the Mussoorie Assembly segment where poets from around the country regaled the audience with their witty and hilarious poetry.

Sultan Singh Sultan and Balbir Singh, eminent poets from Meerut, raised the problems of corruption, price rise and national security through their poetic verses that were appreciated by the audience.

The poets tried to create an environment in favour of the BJP candidates. They said gauzing the mood of the people Narendra Modi was sure to form the next government at the Centre.

Ganesh Joshi, MLA, Mussoorie, who was the coordinator of the programme, said kavi sammelans were proposed for the first time in the BJP’s campaign strategy.

He added the idea was to use the age-old practice that once was very popular in mobilising people’s support to deliver a political message. 

Two ex-Cong leaders join BJP

Dehradun, April 8
Former state Congress secretary Rajinder Singh Rawat and former district vice-president Virender, along with several members of the Muslim community, joined the BJP today.

Welcoming them into the party fold, BJP chief Teerath Singh Rawat said the party membership was open to all communities. He also extended the primary membership of the party to the leaders. — TNS

AAP banking on charm of top leaders for campaign
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
AAP in Uttarakhand is looking forward to its top leadership to come to the state for canvassing in support of their party candidates. The party is banking on the charisma of top leaders Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia, Medha Patkar and Prof Anand Kumar to lead the party campaign in the state.

AAP in Uttarakhand is contesting all the five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand. Anoop Nautiyal is party’s candidate for Tehri Garhwal, Harish Arya from Almora (reserve), Balli Singh Cheema from Nainital, Kanchan Chowdhary Bhattacharya from Haridwar and Rakesh Singh Negi is the party candidate from the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency.

AAP that has taken a lead in announcing its candidates for Uttarakhand, is already into hectic canvassing. Tehri Garhwal candidate Anoop Nautiyal disclosed that he has already covered the entire Tehri Garhwal constituency once and was already into the second round. Anoop recently got a major boost when actress Archana Puran Singh took to streets both in Dehradun and Mussoorie to appeal to the voters in favour of AAP.

The polling in Uttarakhand is to take place on May 7 in the penultimate phase of general elections in the country. AAP leaders in Uttarakhand are hopeful that elections in most parts of the country will be over by April end and thus the top rung AAP leaders will be free to come to Uttarakhand for the campaigning.

AAP leaders, Prof Anand Kumar and Ashutosh, who are in the fray from Delhi, where the polling will take place, day after tomorrow, will subsequently be free to campaign for the party candidates across the country. Both have already shown interest in Uttarakhand. While Ashutosh camped at Rishikesh, Prof Anand Kumar had been instrumental in holding talks with a number of social activists of the region for garnering AAP’s support.

The party managers in Uttarakhand are also trying to bring in Kumar Vishwas, who, however, is locked in electoral battle in Amethi, where the polling too has to take place on May 7. But the party leaders are trying to get him.

However, it will be difficult for AAP leaders to get Arvind Kejriwal to Uttarakhand as he has already made amply clear that he will stay put at Varanasi in order to give formidable challenge to BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. The polling in Varanasi is slated on May 12, the last phase of polling in the general elections.

Vital support

* AAP leaders in Uttarakhand are hopeful that elections in most parts of the country will be over by April end and thus the top-rung party leaders will be free to come to the state for campaigning.

* Prof Anand Kumar and Ashutosh, who are in the fray from Delhi, where the polling will take place day after tomorrow, will subsequently be free to campaign for the party candidates across the country.

* The polling in Uttarakhand is to take place on May 7 in the penultimate phase of the general elections.

Anoop Nautiyal promises Chamba residents to weed out corruption
Tribune News service

Mussoorie, April 8
Anoop Nautiyal, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat, met voters at Chamba town in the constituency yesterday and promised to work for eliminating corruption.

He started the door-to-door campaign from the Chamba block office, went through the main bazaar and reached Badshahi Thaul in the end.

Nautiyal, addressing a gathering at Badshahi Thaul, said the MPs who had represented Tehri Garhwal in the past had done nothing for its development. He added that the AAP came into existence to bring a change in politics and empower people.

Nautiyal said the AAP was working towards eliminating corruption and if elected he would work with utmost honesty and integrity for the people.

He added both Congress and BJP shed crocodile tears for the poor but had done nothing to improve their lives over the years. This had attracted poor people to the AAP.

Nautiyal said if elected, he would try to establish a direct contact with the people and work towards strengthening participatory democracy.

Didihat residents to exercise NOTA
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 8
Irked at not granted district status despite repeated assurances by respective governments after formation of a separate state, locals from Didihat subdivision are all for using the NOTA (none of the above) button in the Lok Sabha polls.

“The issue of formation of a district is vital for Didihat, as lack of this status has affected the basic infrastructure of the district,” said Gambhir Singh Chauhan, a resident of the town.

Chauhan said the demand for a separate district was being raised by the residents since 1972 as the people of the district wanted Didihat as the district headquarter of Pithoragarh district, which was separated from Almora in 1960.

“As the central place of Didihat was kept out of becoming a district headquarters of the newly formed district in 1960, the people of Didihat raised the demand of forming a district in 1972 and have been under agitation ever since,” said Chauhan.

Another Didihat resident and statehood activist, Jodh Singh Bora said despite the Dikshit Committee Report on the state which also advocated formation of a separate district in 1992, repeated governments of Uttarakhand opposed the formation of this district.

“This is the only issue that affects the voters in Didihat as they voted for BJP, after Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal announced the formation of Didihat district along with other districts on August 15, 2011,” said Jodh Singh Bora.

Meanwhile, Didihat residents said as the drinking water problem of the town was soon going to be resolved as potable water for the town was being lifted from Ramganga at Thal, their second priority after the formation of the district was development of tourist sites in the district. 

DM inspects polling booths in remote areas
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, April 8
Pithoragarh District Magistrate and District Election Officer Harish Chandra Semwal today inspected polling booths in remote areas. He also visited Kanar village in Dharchula subdivision, 18 km upstream of Baram town, and reviewed preparations for the polling on May 7 in the state.

Semwal also inspected routes to the village and an under-construction high school building and streetlights erected by the UREDA in the area, according to a press note issued by the Information Department.

He directed the officials concerned to get two doors installed at the polling booth in the village. He also ordered the construction of a trek route to the village with MNREGA funds.

Semwal was surprised at finding villagers living without electricity and facing hardships due to damaged trek routes to the village.

DIT overall winner in sports meet
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
The four-day sports fest of Dehradun Institute Technology (DIT) “Sphurti 2014” concluded here today. The host DIT remained the overall champion of state level sports championship and bagged Naveen Aggarwal Memorial Cup.

DIT University won both singles and doubles titles in the boys' category of badminton while in the girls' category Doon University remained final winners in both singles and doubles. DIT University also won the boys category basketball championship whereas College of Engineering Roorkee won the title in girls’ basketball.

IMS Unison University won the finals of cricket bagged the title while continuing its overall dominance DIT University won the volleyball championship. In football UIT stood first.

Dr. YVN Krishnamurti of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing was the chief guest and he gave away prizes. Addressing the participants and organisers, Dr. Krishna Kumar, Vice Chancellor, DIT University, congratulated all the winners and considered it a victory for all.

Doon Strikers beat Rudra Club 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 8
Doon Strikers defeated the Rudra Club by three wickets in a match during the 62nd District Cricket League here today.

After winning the toss, the Rudra Club elected to bat first. However, its batsmen failed to perform well and set a meager target of 91 runs in 35 overs.

Purdeep scored 30 runs followed by Anu who made 22 runs. In reply, Doon Strikers failed to reach the target and were all out for 90 runs. The highest scorer for the team was Sandeep who scored 33 runs.

For the Rudra Club, Pradeep and Sandy took two wickets each.

Badminton championship from today

A badminton championship will be organised under the aegis of Guru Gobind Singh Badminton Association from April 9 to 11 in the multi sports indoor facility at Parade Ground. The matches would be played in four age categories, 45 plus, 50 plus, 55 plus and 60 plus. 

Teenage girl ends life

Dehradun, April 8
A 14-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide here last evening.

Rajkumari, a resident of Krishali village in Rajpur, was a class VII student in a Sahastradhara school.

According to members of her family, Rajkumari went for the normal sleep on Monday night.

When her father went to wake her up in the morning, he was shocked at finding her daughter hanging from a ceiling fan. The police are trying to ascertain the reasons that forced the girl to take such an extreme step. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.— TNS