Despite assurance, power cuts continue in Doon
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
Several areas in the city continue to face power cuts despite an assurance from Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) to provide uninterrupted electricity supply.

Sangam Vihar, Ankitpuram, Alaknanda Enclave, Kali Mandir Enclave, Green Park, Saharanpur Road, GMS Road, Sewalakalan, Chaman Vihar and the adjoining areas were among the worst-affected.

Officials, however, said power cuts were being imposed due to maintenance works at sub-stations. They blamed lesser power generation in state-run hydropower projects for power shortage.

According to sources, one hour of emergency cut was imposed in the rural areas of Kashipur, Bajpur, Jaspur, Mahuwakhea and the adjoining areas due to low voltage at the 400 KV transformer at Kashipur. Besides, a one-hour power cut was imposed in non-continuous industries of the Garhwal, and Kumaon divisions, except SIDCUL, to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power in the state.

UPCL officials said power generation in the 198 MW Kalagarh project was nil. The 304 MW Maneri Bhalli-II hydropower project generated 194 MW, Chilla project (144 MW) 121 MW, Dhakrani (33 MW) 21 MW and the Dhalipur project (51 MW) generated 29 MW of electricity daily.

The power generation in the 42 MW Khatima and 30 MW Kulhal hydropower projects was 20 MW each, while the 120 MW Khodri and the 240 MW Chibbro projects generated only 64 MW each every day.

The officials said the state was likely to face further shortage of 96 MW as one of the turbines of the Chilla hydropower project would be closed tomorrow.

Spokesperson for the UPCL Madhusudan said the department had been continuously purchasing electricity to meet the demand in the state. He added the department would receive 3.6 MU of electricity through tender. Additional three million units of electricity would be procured on Friday.

The demand for electricity in the state was 37.60 MU against the availability of 37.54 MU. The state-run hydropower projects are generating 17 MU per day.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Industries Association of Uttarakhand (IAU) met Principal Secretary (Power) Umakant Panwar here today. It expressed concern over frequent power cuts being imposed in the industrial areas.

Emergency move

• One hour of emergency power cut was imposed in the rural areas of Kashipur, Bajpur, Jaspur, Mahuwakhea and the adjoining areas due to low voltage at the 400 KV transformer at Kashipur
• A one-hour power cut was imposed in non-continuous industries of the Garhwal, and Kumaon divisions, except SIDCUL, to bridge the gap between demand and supply of power in the state.

Nishank tells govt not to tarnish his image
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today warned the Congress-led state government against misusing the Tripathi Commission to tarnish his image to settle political scores with him. He told the government to abide by the Nainital High Court order in this regard.

“The Nainital High Court judgment yesterday vindicated my position. It clearly said the Tripathi Commission set up by the Congress government had no right to issue notices to me regarding the Citurgia land scam and hydropower project allotment. The government should stop witch hunting and respect the court order,” said Nishank at a press conference here today.

Nishank said the high court had ruled that as it had given him the clean chit there was no need for the commission to issue a notice to him in the Citurgia land scam and the allotment of hydropwer projects. The second issue is pending in the Supreme Court. “The Harish Rawat government should pay heed to the court orders and not tarnish my image. The Chief Minister should learn a lesson from the defeat that the Congress in the Haridwar parliamentary constituency,” said Nishank.

Significantly, the Tripathi Commission was set up to investigate scams that took place during the previous BJP regime in the state.

Sonia Gandhi meets Kausani villagers
Walks 1.5 km to pray at Rudradhari Shiv temple 
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 26
On a personal visit to Kausani in Bageshwar district, Congress president Sonia Gandhi today met villagers and sought information on general welfare. “The Congress president met our delegation and discussed the reasons for the delay in the implementation of the Pindar water lifting scheme. She assured us of taking up the matter with Chief Minister Harish Rawat,” said Ravindra Singh Negi, a resident of Kausani village.

The Pindar water lifting scheme was set up in 1977-78 to provide drinking water to Kausani and a few other villages of Almora.

She also visited the Rudradhari Shiv mandir and walked about 1.5 km to reach the temple.

On her return from the temple, Sonia met some tourists from Rajasthan and signed autographs for them.

“The Congress president is staying in Kausani with her family friend Suman Dubey, who owns a house in the village. Last time she visited Kausani in 2012,” said Dayal Mishra, a patwari.

“She could view the sprawling Himalayan peaks as the weather conditions have improved,” said Neeraj Negi, a local resident. However, Sonia did not meet Congress workers and local media.  

Finally, CM to contest from Dharchula
Hira Singh Bisht to fight byelection from Doiwala
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
Chief Minister Harish Rawat will contest the Assembly byelection from the Dharchula seat. Senior Congress leader Hira Singh Bisht will contest the byelection from the Doiwala seat while Rekha Arya, who left the BJP to join the Congress a few days ago, will be the party candidate from the Someshwar seat. This was stated in a press note issued by the state Congress here today. An announcement to this effect was made by the Congress high command in Delhi.

Dhami had resigned as MLA recently to pave the way for Harish Rawat to contest from Dharchula, which is regarded as a Congress stronghold. The byelections were necessitated after BJP legislators from Doiwala and Someshwar Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Ajay Tamta were elected MPs from Haridwar and Almora, respectively. The announcement has put paid to speculation that the Chief Minister could contest from both Doiwala and Dharchula seats. Pradeep Tamta, who lost the Lok Sabha elections from Almora, had taken a huge lead in the Dharchula Assembly segment.

Senior Congress leader Hira Singh Bisht had lost the Assembly elections in 2012 from the Doiwala seat to BJP candidate Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The byelections are slated for July 21.

Congress appoints observers

Kishore Upadhayay, Uttarakhand Congress president, said today that he had appointed observers to ensure better coordination between candidates, and party activists ahead of the upcoming Assembly byelections in the state.

He added Cabinet ministers Yashpal Arya, Indira Hridayesh, and SS Negi had been appointed observers for the Dharchula, Someshwar, and Doiwala Assembly constituencies, respectively. Upadhayay said the observers would coordinate between party office-bearers, and activists in order to ensure victory of the candidates. — TNS

Counting of votes for panchayat poll today
Tribune News Service

Dehradun , June 26
The Uttarakhand Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the counting of votes for the panchayat elections to be held at 89 blocks in 12 districts of the state tomorrow.

The counting of ballot papers will commence at 8 am and continue till the last vote is counted. “More than 1,000 officials will be involved to oversee the counting process and the state police will make the security arrangements,” said state Election Commissioner Suberdhan.

For the first time, the election results will be available on the Internet and the state Election Commissioner through videoconferencing will oversee the preparations for the counting of votes tomorrow. “I have instructed all District Magistrates to ensure that the results are made available on the Internet with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC). Besides, the panchayat election results will also be available on mobile phones. The users can upload the application for viewing the results on mobile phones from the State Election Commission’s website,” said Suberdhan.

The Election Commission is also taking the help of the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) centres which has also helped in constituting the panchayat election result transmission team.

The State Election Commission has directed all District Magistrates to ensure that the candidates submit their expenditure details within 30 days of the declaration of the panchayat election results. Suberdhan also clarified that if candidates get an equal number of votes, the results would be decided through a draw of lots.

No progress on Raipur Assembly building
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
The construction of Vidhan Sabha and Secretariat buildings at a location in Raipur continues to be embroiled in intricacies of land transfer.

This has impeded the project announced by former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna last year.

Many political leaders feel that the present Vidhan Sabha building is inadequate for holding Assembly sessions. Their grouse was lent credence after a fire a broke out due to a short circuit there some time back.

The issue of safety came to the fore and it was felt that the Vidhan Sabha building had to be housed at a new location.

The Bahuguna government went a step further and announced the shifting of the Secretariat and residences of MLAs too. For this purpose, a site was inspected at Raipur last year.

The issue seems to have taken a backseat since Harish Rawat was made the Uttarakhand Chief Minister. And more so after the successful conduct of an Assembly session in Gairsain a few days back.

Last year, the state government had announced that it would acquire approximately 500 acres of land at Raipur belonging to the Forest Department and ITBP. But since the announcement and the stone-laying ceremony, no progress has been made.

Sources claim that as the government also plans to construct a residential complex for MLAs, getting land clearance from the Forest Department would be difficult to come by.

“In the long run, the move was also aimed at decongesting the present location that is choc-a-bloc with traffic. But land clearance is not easy to come by in Uttarakhand. After all, the government is looking for 500 acres that would also be used for housing,” said a senior official.

As Dehradun continues to be an interim capital, there has been pressure on the government to declare it a permanent capital. That could make it eligible for utilising Central funds for infrastructure befitting a capital.

But so far, Harish Rawat as the Chief Minister has zeroed in on Gairsain, which may eventually be the state’s summer capital.

Students concerned over poor college building
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
The Students Struggle Committee of DAV PG College led by college union leaders today accused the college management of not giving attention to the deteriorating condition of the building and infrastructure of the institution.

Siddharth Rana, president of the DAV PG College Students Union, claimed that students of the college were forced to study in classrooms, which were in a poor condition and thus posed a constant risk to their lives.

He accused the college management of using for its personal use the money donated for the upgrade of the infrastructure of the institution and creating more facilities for the students.

Anshul Chawla, former president of the DAV PG College Students Union, said, “An independent agency must hold an enquiry about the land donated to DAV College in the last 100 years and what is their present condition.”

The students also demanded that the government should hold an audit of the college accounts of the last 20 years. They threatened to intensify the protest if their demands were not met. Meanwhile, college Principal Devendra Bhasin told The Tribune that, “Union leaders always raised such issues before the start of the admission process in order to mislead the students.” 

MDDA seals Panchsheel Wedding Point
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
The Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) today sealed Panchsheel Wedding Point on Kanwali Road and issued orders for sealing three other buildings.

A MDDA team led by Assistant Engineer GC Bhatt sealed Panchsheel Wedding Point as it was constructed without getting a clearance of building plans.

The other buildings that have been served notices are Chand Garden and Usha Complex on GMS Road and Rajender Memorial (Sagar) Chowdhary Farmhouse on Kanwali Road.

Swirling Kali washes away bridge, border trade hit
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 26
The swirling waters of the Kali river washed away a temporary bridge built over it last evening. The bridge was constructed during the Jauljibi fair in November last year to facilitate transportation of goods.

Residents of Nepal are now in for trouble as they will have to cover 10 km more to reach Baluakot town and cross the river to enter the Indian territory.

“Due to the melting of glaciers, the water level in the Kali river has been rising for the past one week. Last evening, the swollen river washed away the bridge snapping the contact between Nepal residents and the Jauljibi market,” said Lila Bangyal, a trader at the Jauljibi market.

Shakunatala Datal, another trader, said residents of the Uku, Banku, Lali, Pilkhi and Pantpali areas of Nepal were the worst hit as they had access to the Jauljibi market only.

Jauljibi residents have demanded that a permanent bridge be constructed over the river. They said constructing a temporary bridge again and again would not solve the problem as it would affect the trade between Indian and Nepalese people every time the bridge was washed away in the swirling waters.

“We want a permanent suspension bridge over the river. The Jauljibi market is entirely dependent on Nepalese clients,” said Shakuntala Datal.

Sources said the district administration had sent a proposal with regard to the construction of three suspension and two motor bridges on the river to the Central Government, but nothing had been done in this regard.

“A proposal for the construction of bridges at Jhoolaghat, Jaulibi and Tawaghat and a new bridge at Dwalisera was sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs through the Chief Secretary a few years ago. However, the Centre is yet to take any action on it,” said HC Semwal, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh.

Information on pending cases to be digitised, says SC judge
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur today said there were more than three crore cases pending in district courts, 44 lakh in high courts and 63,000 in the Supreme Court. He said the apex court had set up an e-committee that was working to digitalise cases and upload information on the Internet.

He was speaking on the “Role of Information Technology in transparency of information access to the stakeholder-Present and Future of e-courts in India” on the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) campus here today.

He said computerisation of cases was being done in two phases. The first phase would cover the availability of hardware, development of a software to computerise the system and training of judges and court staff.

Justice Lokur said over 1 lakh personnel were being trained across the country to facilitate revision of court rules and regulations. Video-conferencing between jails and courts was being initiated in five states, including Uttarakhand.

The second phase of the process would cover short messaging services, scanning of documents, e-filing of cases, cloud computing and availability of training videos online. Both phases were expected to be implemented by 2016.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and IMS Unison University was signed by Avadhash Kaushal, Chairperson, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and Amit Adhalka, registrar of the university. The two institutions agreed on general areas of interest, cooperation in exchange of scholars to conduct research, invitations to scholars and volunteers for participation in conferences, symposia, workshops, projects and camps, exchange of information, academic material and publications in the fields of mutual interest.

Vijayan, Dr MK Bhandari, Dr Priya Zadu, Director, State Resource Centre and Rajiv Puri were present on the occasion.

illegal quarrying
Shivanand demands SIT probe
Tribune News Service

Matra Sadan founder Swami Shivanand

Haridwar, June 26
Matra Sadan founder Swami Shivanand has demanded the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) for investigating illegal quarrying in the state.

Shivanand said today the SIT should be formed on the lines of the one set up by the Central Government to probe blackmoney. He added quarrying, legal and illegal, had been affecting the sanctity of the Ganga and the state ecology.

He demanded that the SIT should be given power to conduct a fair investigation and bring the guilty to book.

Shivanand said the Special Investigation Team in the illegal quarrying case should submit its report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi within a month. He also hinted at launching another agitation from July 5 if the district administration failed to take action against the quarrying mafia.

Month-long coffee festival begins
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
A month-long coffee festival began at the local outlet of Café Coffee Day (CCD) here today.

Addressing a press conference, Aparupa Roy, coffee evangelist at the CCD, said the festival was a beverage “show-and-tell” initiative for consumers where it intended to share the art of brewing coffee and a few tips on brewing tea with consumers. The festival would end on July 25.

Coffee lovers, who intend to known secrets behind those steaming cup of cappuccinos and mochas served at the café, can walk at the Darshan Lal Chowk-based outlet and learn how to make a perfect cuppa using simple coffee making tools like the “French Press” and “Stovetop Espresso”. The company has introduced “Coffee Day WakeCup”, a coffee-brewing system using capsule technology that produces a cup of coffee in just 30 seconds.

There is a treat for tea lovers too as they can learn to brew a rich flavourful cup in the comforts of their homes with “Roosh”, a high-quality tea prepared through the tea-drip bag method. “Coffee and tea drinking is part of our daily lifestyle. These beverages, particularly coffee, is at the centre of several conversations, be it in cafés or at home. The coffee festivals are an attempt to help consumers indulge in these fine beverages and take back home a part of the café experience with them,” said Roy.

“We have also introduced different blends of coffee powders like ‘arabica’, ‘charge’ and ‘perfect’, which ranges from coffee beans being roasted mildly, to strong. Besides, two premium ranges have been introduced.

‘Mysore Royal’ carries the aroma of strong spices grown in the southern belt while ‘Dark Forest’ is grown specifically in the areas safeguarded from sunrays,” she added.

“Another offering is “Trist”, a coffee-on-the-go and the innovative “Filta Fresh”, a unique offering that gives you filter coffee in a minute through a simple brew-it-yourself process.

Consumers can also purchase Roosh tea for home consumption. It offers a range of aromatic and flavoursome teas in three variants-Assam, Darjeeling and Green Tea,” said Roy. 

CT scan machine at Doon Hospital develops snag

Dehradun, June 26
A CT scan machine at Doon Hospital today developed a snag causing inconvenience to a number of patients.

Most of the patients who were to undertake scans after 12 pm were asked to come tomorrow as the monitor of the machine refused to respond. “We have been asked to come tomorrow for the scan as the machine developed a snag today. I will have to come tomorrow and miss a day’s work again to undertake the scan. I do not know if it will be possible,” said Pranab Kumar, a patient.

Principal Superintendent, Doon Hospital, Dr RS Aswal, said they had consulted mechanics to inspect the machine. “The issue will be resolved early. Since the machine is in use everyday, it is bound to encounter problems.P atients whose scans could not be carried today have been asked to come tomorrow,” said Dr Aswal. — TNS 

NCB seminar against drug abuse
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Dehradun, organised a seminar in collaboration with Graphic Era University on the university campus on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking today.

The event was meant to raise public awareness about the menace of drugs and mobilise support for drug control.

Film actor and social worker Victor Bannerjee was the chief guest at the seminar and over 200 students, parents and teachers participated.

Bannerjee threw light on the ill-effects of drugs on human beings. “We have seen that even celebrities get addicted to drugs. We must learn to say ‘no’ to anyone who forces us to try drugs in any form,” said Bannerjee.

Ravi Kumar Rana, SP, Narcotics Control Bureau, Dehradun, gave a detailed presentation on “Drugs and You”. He said effective vigil by parents could save their children from entering into the dark world of drugs.

SSP Avoodai Krishna Raj talked about the menace of drug smuggling in Uttarakhand and the ways to curb it. 

Congress seeks Nihal Chand’s ouster
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
Congress workers staged a protest and burnt an effigy of the NDA government at the Clock Tower chowk here today demanding ouster of Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers Nihal Chand Medhwal.

Addressing the protesters, secretary of the Uttarakhand Congress Anil Negi said the BJP had failed to fulfil the promises it made during the Lok Sabha election campaign. “Though Medhwal has been named in the rape case of a 42-year-old, the Central government has taken no action against him. On the one hand, the Modi government speaks of giving respect to women and safeguarding them, on the other it has not removed the minister who has been accused of rape,” he added. 

JA Boys emerge victorious 
Tribune News Service

Players in action during a match in the Dehradun District Football League in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, June 26
JA Boys defeated Doon Football Club 3-1 in a match during the Nemidas Memorial District Football League here today.

Arpan Gurung scored two goals in the 10th and 38th minutes of the match while Vivek Sharma scored one goal in the 38th minute.

For Doon Football Club, Chirag scored the lone goal in the 30th minute of the match.

In the second match, UK Tiger played a 1-1 draw against BMK Football Club with Prashant scoring the first goal for UK Tiger in the 24th minute. Rahul Rawat scored an equalizer in the 30th minute of the match.

RPCA defeat Dinesh academy by 10 runs
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
The RPCA cricket team defeated Dinesh Rai Cricket Academy by 10 runs during a match in the Under-19 Continental Cricket Cup here today.

Batting first, the 
RPCA team scored 181 runs in 30 overs. Ishan scored 76 runs, followed by Panwar who made 30 runs.

For Dinesh Ray Cricket Academy, Sourav, Raj and Chakshu took 2 wickets each. In reply, Dinesh Ray Cricket Academy had a good start with Urooj and Sagar making 25 and 55 runs, respectively.

However, the team lost constant wickets in the middle overs and the entire team was bowled out at 17 runs. Kewal took 5 wickets for RPCA.

In the second match, host Tanush Cricket Academy (TCA) defeated Delhi Cricket Club (DCC) by 8 wickets.

Delhi Cricket Club made 164 runs with Runak and Yuvraj scoring 29 runs each while Deepak scored 25 runs.

For DCC, Pramod took 4 wickets. In reply, Delhi Cricket Club got off to a brilliant start with opener Dipankar scoring brilliant 42 runs and Sameer playing a knock of 62 runs and winning the match for his team. Kamal and Runak took 1 wickets each for Delhi Cricket Club.

Doon Tiger enter final of cricket tourney

Doon Tiger has entered finals of the 62nd District Cricket League after defeating Khalsa Cricket Club by 21 runs in the semifinal played at Maharana Pratap Sports College. Doon Tiger made 131 runs. Raj scored 28 runs. Khalsa Cricket Club were bowled out for 110 runs. 

Aravali House overall champs

Dehradun, June 26
Aravali House won the overall team championship after winning 20 gold medals in the 15th Annual Sports Meet Central Academy for State Forest Services here today.

Nilgiri House stood second after winning 12 gold medals while Vindhyachal House came third.

Anmol Thorat of Aravali House was adjudged the best athlete among men while Asha Bhong of Aravali House won the best athlete award in women’s category. — TNS

Registration of Kanwariyas not compulsory
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 26
Commissioner of Garhwal division NS Napalchayal today said the state police would not make the registration of Kanwariyas mandatory and binding. In the recent past, Kanwariyas had protested against registration during the Kanwar pilgrimage.

The Kanwar mela administration held a second meeting of police and administration officials of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand at the CCR tower here today.

Napalchayal, along with DIG Amit Sinha, briefed the higher administration and police officers of the two states about the mela arrangements. The Kanwar pilgrimage is slated to begin in a fortnight.

The state police will register Kanwariyas at Uttarakhand’s entry points.

Carrying of hockey sticks, baseball and cricket bats, lathis, rods etc is prohibited during the fair. The DIG has instructed Haridwar SSP Sadanand Date to present a traffic plan, considering that Kanwariyas are expected to pass through various districts in large numbers.

Haridwar District Magistrate D Senthyl Penidyan pointed out that the CMO had been directed to keep 108 mobile health team assistance at hand during this fair, while the Irrigation Department has been told to repair the damaged Kanwar Patri track in time.

District Magistrate Pauri Chandrasekhar Bhatt, DM Bijnore Bhoopendra S Chaudhari, ADM Saharanpur Dinesh Chand, SP Saharanpur Dharamveer Singh and ADM Ghaziabad Chunku Ram were present at the meeting.

On June 27, a junta durbar will be organised at Rayai Intermediate College, Lakshar. On July 7, it will be organised at Buggawalal Block, Bhagwanpur. This was stated by Chief Development Officer Vishnu Singh Dhanik. A mobile health team will accompany the administrative team during the durbar. It will undertake medical check-up of ailing, the elderly, pregnant women and children. The health team will conduct an eye check-up and distribute spectacles to the elderly and needy.

At these durbars, the Social Welfare Department will give differently abled children certificates. 

Lack of info hinders plans to combat disasters
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 26
Plans to combat natural disasters in 12 Himalayan states of the country are not being implemented. Lack of information on climate, weather and other factors in the interior parts of the Himalayan region are hindering clearance. A scientific system to get such information from every part of the Himalayan region has not been developed till date.

Dr PP Dhyani, Director of the Himalayan Environment and Development Institute, Almora, said, “The workshop I recently attended in New Delhi was a joint initiative of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Himalayan Institute of Environment and Development.”

Dhyani said at the workshop, the scientific community was urged to network in the Himalayan region to get scientific data on aspects of earthquakes, forest fires, flash floods, drought conditions and fast-melting Himalayan glaciers for concrete plans to avert such crisis in the region in future.

“These problems in the Himalayan region have been caused more by human interference compared to worldwide climate change patterns,” he said.

He added the scientists drawn from over 50 departments felt that various agencies working to combat affects of natural disasters in the Himalayan region should coordinate and gather scientific data regarding climate and weather conditions of the region for further action.

“The scientific community was of the view that until more scientific and factual data was available to the policymakers for future plans to combat these increasing natural disasters in the region, no concrete policy could be implemented,” said Dhyani.

He added the workshop emphasised that the present policy framework for combating disasters should be changed according to the needs of the Himalayan region. The working plans be augmented by incorporating information about local needs of a particular state, besides including people’s traditional knowledge about combating climate change.

Shankaracharya’s Sai Baba remark flayed
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 26
Activists of the Gramin Vikas Samiti have condemned the statement of Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati that Shirdi Sai Baba was not a God and should not be given a special place in prayers.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Gramin Vikas Samiti chairman Kunwar Singh said Shankaracharya’s statement would adversely affect communal harmony.

He said the saint had hurt the sentiments of Sai Baba disciples. The government should ban the telecast of religious advertisements as private companies were minting money by playing with the religious sentiments of people, he added.

Govind, Sanjay Kumar, Suraj Bhan, Manjeet Singh, Tara Chand, Ravi, Usha and Rita were present. 

‘Google boy’ Kautilya Pandit seeks Shankaracharya’s blessings
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 26
Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand today gave ‘gyan deeksha’ to the ‘knowledge kid’ Kautilya Pundit, who, owing to his immense knowledge of current affairs and general knowledge, is known as ‘Google boy’.

At his ashram at Kankhal, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swaroopanand of Jyotish Peeth and Dwarka Peeth gave blessings and ‘deeksha’ to the 7-year-old wonder kid Kautilya, who has been conferred ‘Bal Manishi’ (child prodigy) status by the Kashi Vidwan Parishad of Varanasi.

Accompanied by his parents, Kautilya, a resident of Kohand village in Haryana, touched the feet of the Shankaracharya, whom he had earlier met in Varanasi last year.

The Shankaracharya praised Kautilya for his knowledge and his parents for the guidance and education they gave him.

Kautilya also shared his experience of meeting legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan when he was invited on Children’s Day last year in the popular reality show, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. The show catapulted him to global fame as he answered in quick time myriad questions straddling countries, economy, history, current affairs and politics.

Kautilya’s father Satish Sharma said they were quite worried about Kautilya as he had immense knowledge and talent for a child of his age. They had apprised the Shankaracharya about their concern when they met him in Varanasi in February. The Shankaracharya blessed Kautilya and surprisingly, since then, his behaviour changed remarkably and he is now living like a normal child.

They said it was a God’s gift and nature’s blessing that Kautilya was a hugely talented child with a photographic memory.