zila panchayat elections
Cong, BJP engage in poll calculations 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5
With the focus now shifting to the elections of chairmen of 13 districts and posts of block pramukhs, the Congress and the BJP have begun to assess their strengths and weaknesses.

The race for chairman of Dehradun zila panchayat is expected to take precedence over the remaining districts, mainly due to the interest being shown by arch rivals Cabinet minister Pritam Singh and BJP senior leader Munna Singh Chauhan.

Munna Singh Chauhan’s wife, former chairman of Dehradun zila panchayat, has already won the zila panchayat member’s seat.

There are indications that the BJP may field her as the party candidate for the Dehradun zila panchayat chairman’s seat. In this, she is getting support from her husband Munna Singh Chauhan, who is in talks with the BJP leaders on this issue.

On the other hand Pritam Singh is canvassing for his younger brother Chaman Singh, who has won his zila panchayat member seat and is also said to be in the race for the post of chairman of Dehradun zila panchayat and Congress may field him.

However , there is no official confirmation on their candidature, though Subash Sharma has already declared himself a candidate for the post of chairman of Dehradun zila panchayat and is likely to contest as an Independent .

Interestingly, both Munna Singh Chauhan and Pritam Singh, respectively, hold sway in Kalsi and Chakrata areas of Pacchwa Doon area. In the runup to the election for the seat of chairman of Dehradun zila panchayat, the Pachwa Doon area alone has 26 seats for members of zila panchayat. 

Elections for post of prez, deputy sought
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5
Subhash Sharma, newly elected district panchayat member from Ladpur, has sought immediate conduct of elections for the post of president and vice-president in district panchayats.

Addressing a press conference here today, Subhash Sharma appealed to Governor Aziz Qureshi to ask the state government to ensure that elections for the post of district panchayat president and vice-president were done before July 13 in the state.

He said the tenure of administrators, who were presently appointed by the state government to manage panchayats in the state, was ending on July 13.

Sharma said he had come to know through sources that the state government was trying to delay the elections for the post of district panchayat president and vice-president till August.

He said the delay in conduct of elections would affect the development works in the rural areas of the state.

People offer prayers for quick recovery of Harish Rawat
Tribune News Service

Congress state president Kishore Upadhyay takes part in a signature campaign in Dehradun on Saturday. A tribune photograph

Dehradun, July 5
The Uttarakhand People’s Association, an NGO, organised a special prayer meeting for the speedy recovery of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, at Gandhi Park, here today.

The association had also held a one-day signature campaign seeking good wishes for the CM. The meet started with prayer offerings by senior social activist Dr S. Farooq.

Later Buddhist spiritual leader Karma Shering offered prayers along with his team of monks. The other groups who offered prayers included Brahmkumari Sangathan, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians.

A large number of students, NGO workers, artistes, social activists and employees from government and private sectors participated in the signature campaign. 

‘Country not facing deficit monsoons’
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5
Dr Lakshman Singh Rathore, Director General of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department, today denied that the country was facing deficit monsoons. He said it was still a long way to go before arriving at any conclusion.

He, however, admitted that it had been a late start and as far as June is concerned, there had been less rainfall. He pointed out that the rain was expected to further intensify after July 9 and ruled out its negative impact on production.

He said there had been several instances in the past when we started with deficit monsoons initially, but ended up with normal rain.

He said the monsoons had reached Central India, including Western Madhya Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and pointed that it was expected to completely cover MP and Rajasthan within next two to three days. Referring to Uttarakhand, Rathore said the state would have sufficient rainfall.

Rathore said the Met department was coordinating with the Agriculture Department for assisting farmers in crop sowing and other linked requirements. He said measures like making farmers available with early maturing varieties and special seeds for farmers were being taken by the seed corporation.

He said the IMD had best of models as being used in developed countries and was further working to improve accuracy.  

MAD volunteers apprise MNA of garbage situation
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5
Members of MAD (Making a Difference by being the difference), an NGO, today met the newly appointed Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harak Singh Rawat and apprised him of the deteriorating garbage situation here.

During the meeting, members of MAD specifically highlighted the improper garbage disposal at Ballupur Chowk. An open garbage dump has been created near the flyover construction area causing a lot of inconvenience to area residents and passersby.

Chairperson, MAD Abhiajay Negi, said the MNA had promised a swift action.

“Even though we welcome the response by the Nagar Nigam, but we are cautious as in the past too promises have been made but no action has been taken,” said Aakash Bhatia, a team member.

In the past the NGO had prepared and submitted 76-page garbage disposal report in December 2011 to the CM office and DMC. “Our recommendations in the report were no rocket science. We have clearly marked 16 places in the cities, which are in need of severe clean-ups. We have recommended better organisation of the rag pickers’ community in the absence of any re-cycling facility in the city and regular placing of dustbins.

The MAD has also submitted to both Nagar Nigam and DVWM a clean-up module for Neshville road which carries 8 specific suggestions along with the signature of all residents of the area”, said Karan Kapoor, another member.

Locals raise issue of public toilets in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 5
Residents have raised the issue of lack of public toilets in the city, meeting Municipal Corporation officials here today.

These citizens have formed a forum named Sudhar Kranti Sanstha, which is raising public-related issues in Haridwar.

Forum president Jai Kishan Joshi said the city lacks public toilet facilities, while pilgrims, devotees and tourists throng the city.

Youth activist Reena Kashyap said in Kankhal area, two public toilets were constructed during the Maha Kumbh in 2010 at the Mahatma Gandhi Road and Sant Ravi Das Colony, but now, both have been temporarily closed. Reena added that as the Kanwar fair approaches, instead of increasing the number of such public facilities, the civic body is closing these.

When contacted, Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Vipra Trivedi said she had inquired about the closing down of these toilets from subordinates. It had been done mainly to enable maintenance and the toilets would open during the Kanwar fair for public use, she added.

8 years on, construction of school building incomplete 
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 5
The under-construction building of Government Inter College at Chauria village in Bhardaar region of Rudraprayag district is incomplete even after eight years due to indifference on the part of the Education Department.

The area residents lament the fact that several posts of teacher in the school have not been filled for the past several years, jeopardising the future of students.

Students complain that the playground that was damaged in the natural disaster last year has not been repaired, leaving no place for them to engage in extracurricular activities.

Arjun Singh, father of a student, says the construction of the school building was started by the Uttar Pradesh Nirman Nigam eight years ago and it was only half complete. He adds the existing school building is leaking at several places, thus making it difficult for the students to concentrate on studies and forcing the teachers to send them home out of fear.

The teachers of the school say of the 21 approved posts of teacher 10 are in important subjects like social science, physical education, mathematics, chemistry, economics, geography and biology.

Radha Devi, gram pradhan of nearby Saundha village, and Dilbar Rana, a former gram pradhan of Mathgaon village, say the Education Department has opened the school but has shown no interest in providing the basic facilities there, forcing local people to migrate to places promising better education facilities.

Zila Panchayat member Asha Dimri says the executive agency has left the construction work of the school midway, jeopardising the future of the students. Several reminders to the Education Department for filling vacant posts of teacher in the school have elicited no action so far.

Dimri says a delegation will meet the District Magistrate, Rudraprayag, to apprise him about the situation. Local residents demand immediate resolution of the issue, lest they will start an agitation.

The UP Nirman Nigam cited lack of adequate budget as the main reason for the incomplete construction of the school building. Meanwhile, no senior Education Department official was available for comments.

State to get Doppler radar before next monsoons
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5
Uttarakhand will get its much-awaited Doppler radar installed in the state before next monsoons.

Inaugurating the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) office building at Mokhumpur on the Haridwar Road here, Ministry of Earth Sciences secretary Dr Shailesh Naik said the ministry was working on a war footing to install a Doppler radar in Uttarakhand and the procurement process would begin shortly.

“Installing Doppler radars was a long-drawn process as it involved identification of proper sites and arranging all other linked infrastructure and logistics support at the site of installation. But we are already working on a war footing and hopeful that the installation of dopplers radars would be in place at the identified sites before the next monsoons,” Naik said.

Appreciating the works of IMD Dehradun office, Naik said the work performance of Dehradun office has been excellent in terms of accuracy of forecast and its proper dissemination to the stakeholders. He said with the new office building and other added infrastructure, the IMD team now has more of responsibility. “You people now have more responsibility and expectations of people are bound to increase from you. I am very much hopeful that you will rise to the expectations,” Naik said.

Earlier, Dr Anand Sharma, director, IMD Dehradun office, referred to efforts undertaken by him towards setting up of the Dehradun office. He said it had been a long journey and involved a lot of convincing with state authorities and other stakeholders. Dr LS Rathore, DG, IMD, AS Khati, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and SS Singh, Deputy Director General, were other speakers at the function.

The IMD Office in Dehradun was presently being operated from the makeshift Survey of India office in Dehradun. It will now be shifted to the newly constructed Indian Meteorological Department, Dehradun office, at Mokhumpur on the Dehradun-Haridwar highway and have latest equipment.

Thieves target Nag Devta temple, decamp with cash, jewellery
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 5
Burglars ransacked the Nag Devta temple at Khatta Pani, 3 km from Mussoorie, last night and decamped with cash and jewellery worth several thousands for the third time in the last one year.

According to a resident of Khatta Pani village Vinay Katyar, the villagers came to know about the theft in the morning today when they found the locks of the donation box broken and the cash and jewellery worth several thousands missing from it.

When contacted, the Mussoorie police station in-charge Jaimal Negi showed his ignorance about the theft and said that no such complaint had been registered in Mussoorie police station yet.

Meanwhile, the affected residents of Khatta Pani were of the view that this was for the third time such theft was occurring in their village.

Burglars had targeted three houses, a school in Tuneta and Jodi villages and ransacked the same temple at Khatta Pani, and decamped with Rs 10,000 and jewellery worth several lakhs but not a single person was apprehended despite several complaints at the station, said residents, on previous occasions.

Vinay Katiyar, the resident of Khatta Pani, said that the police have been unable to nab the culprits in the past which has resulted in residents losing faith on the law and order authorities and forcing them not to file any complaint of theft at the police station today.

He further said that the residents who have lost hope in police providing security to them have decided to safeguard the temple themselves by keeping vigil at night on turn wise basis, said Vinay Katiyar.

1 killed, 3 hurt as bridge collapses
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 5
One labourer was killed while three others were injured when a Bailey bridge near Sangam Chatti in Uttarkashi district collapsed today.

SDM, Uttarkashi, KK Singh along with members of the revenue police rushed to the spot and recovered the body of the deceased while the injured were rushed to a government hospital in Uttarkashi.

According to the SDM, labourers were working on the Bailey bridge being constructed by National Bridge Construction Corporation (NBCC) but due to alleged faulty alignment, the bridge collapsed completely.

The deceased and other three labourers have been identified as residents of Kolkata. Their family members had been informed about the incident, said the SDM. An investigation has begun.

RP Singh, Praveen Kumar attend conditioning camp
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 5
Ranji players of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association are attending a conditioning camp being orgainsed by the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy here. International players RP Singh and Praveen Kumar are among the players taking part in the camp.

PC Verma, secretary of the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand, said besides top players, several young players were taking part in the camp. “At present, former international player Venkatesh Prasad is coaching the players, he added.

CJM rejects bail plea of Cong leader Sangwan

Dehradun, July 5
The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dehradun court, rejected the bail plea application of Congress leader Pradeep Sangwan, accused of raping a woman and recording the crime here today.

Earlier, Sangwan had submitted an application in the Supreme Court seeking anticipatory bail. In it’s ruling on July 2 the court had given 15 days stay on his arrest. It had asked Sangwan to submit a bail application in Dehradun local court within three days. However, the CJM Simranjit Kaur today rejected his bail application.

It may be recalled that a female staffer of the water park owned by Sangwan in Dehradun had lodged a police complaint against him in April. — TNS

Cong leader Hema resigns

Dehradun, July 5
Hema Purohit, a newly elected member of the Dehradun District Panchayat from Miyanwala, today resigned from the Congress accusing local party leaders of supporting BJP candidates in the recent panchayat elections.

In a press note issued here, Purohit said though she had won with a margin of 11,500 votes she decided to leave the party and contest the election for the post of district panchayat president as an Independent candidate.

“During the recent panchayat elections senior party leaders from the Doiwala and Raipur Assembly segments had turned a blind eye towards irregularities taking place right under their nose. They not only openly supported the BJP candidates, but also sought votes for them,” she added. — TNS

Six persons felicitated

Dehradun, July 5
Six personalities were felicitated by Comrade Kamlaram Nautiyal Pragatisheel Manch in Dehradun today.

Among those felicitated with Comrade Kamlaram Nautiyal Memorial Award included Dr Sudha Pandey for her contribution in higher education, Gilashi Devi for her role in state agitation, Prabhawati Gaur for women empowerment, Kiran Bhatt Todariya for entrepreneurship, Anjali Nauriyal for journalism and Shradha Pandey for classical music.

Chief guest, Narendranagar, Congress MLA, Subodh Uniyal, remembered late Kamlaram Nautiyal for his struggle for ensuring equality in society. “Being a committed Leftist leader, Kamlaram Nautiyal worked for uplift of poorer sections of society,” Uniyal said. State Congress president Kishore Upadhyaya and Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli were also present. — TNS