SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI


THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
U T T A R A K H A N D

Doon hospital starved of funds
Dehradun, July 31
With mounting liabilities of Rs 5 crore and a miniscule budgetary release of Rs 2 crore in July for the first quarter of the ongoing financial year against the outlay of Rs 11. 35 crore, the Doon hospital is in the midst of an acute financial crisis.

Employees seek renewal of contract
Dehradun, July 31
Annoyed for not renewing contract of employees, agitators staged a protest at the education directorate here today.

Take action against government, Jan Morcha tells Qureshi 
Dehradun, July 31
Raghunath Singh Negi, president of Jan Sangharsh Morcha-cum-former vice-president of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam said Governor Members of the Jan Sangharsh Morcha stage a demonstration against the state government at Vikasnagar sub-tehsil in Dehradun on Thursday. A tribune photograph Dr Aziz Qureshi did not summon any Congress leader, despite submitting a memorandum highlighting different scams.
Members of the Jan Sangharsh Morcha stage a demonstration against the state government at Vikasnagar sub-tehsil in Dehradun on Thursday. A tribune photograph


EARLIER EDITIONS



BSNL staff for end to privatisation
BSNL employees protest in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photographDehradun, July 31
The agitated BSNL employees staged a protest at the office of chief general manager of BSNL here today. The agitators have threatened to intensify their agitation if the department does not take effective steps to address their grievances.


BSNL employees protest in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Leopard menace gives sleepless nights to villagers
Dehradun, July 31
Leopard movement has become a common sight in villages on the outskirts of Dehradun.

HC gives three weeks to Forest Dept to reply on initiatives taken 
Dehradun, July 31
The Nainital High Court has sought reply from the state forest authorities over the issue of conservation of “bugyal” (alpine meadow) in Chamoli district.

KM Joseph takes oath as Chief Justice
Dehradun, July 31
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi administers oath to Justice KM Joseph as the ninth Chief Justice of the Nainital High Court in Nainital on Thursday. A Tribune photograph Governor Aziz Qureshi today administered oath of office to Justice KM Joseph as the ninth Chief Justice of Uttarakhand. Justice Joseph has taken charge of this post after the retirement of Justice Barin Ghosh on June 3, 2014.



Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi administers oath to Justice KM Joseph as the ninth Chief Justice of the Nainital High Court in Nainital on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

CM, Qureshi express grief over cloudburst incident 
Dehradun, July 31
Governor Aziz Qureshi and Chief Minister Harish Rawat have expressed grief over the loss of lives, livestock and damage to property due to flash floods caused by cloudburst at Jakhniyali (Nautar) village in Tehri district.

Dhasmana’s directive to overcome water shortage
Dehradun, July 31
Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee, has instructed officials to take effective steps to overcome shortage of potable water in Prempur Mafi in Dehradun. The residents expressed concern that shortage of potable water has increased manifold due to ongoing work of laying sewage pipeline in the colony.

Plantation drive launched
Dehradun, July 31
The Ganga cell of the BJP launched a fortnight plantation drive here yesterday. Activists urged the masses to plant more and more saplings to conserve the environment.

Girls trained in ways to deal with crime
Dehradun, July 31
More than 500 girl students attended a one-day convention organised by the Garhwal unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Suman Nagar, Dharampur, today.

Mayors’ council conference
Dehradun, July 31
The Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) will be holding the All-India Mayors’ Council Conference from August 23-24. The two-day conference is likely to see the participation of 153 mayors from across the country.

BJP, Cong in direct fight for posts of ZP chairman
Dehradun, July 31
The BJP and the Congress will have a direct fight in at least seven districts of the state in the elections for the posts of chairman and vice chairman of 12 zila panchayats on August 5.

Rachna, Beena adjudged Teej Queen
Mussoorie, July 31
Rachna Bhatnagar, Beena Goyal, Neeta and Nandni were declared Teej Queen in a contest held at a hotel under the aegis of the Lioness Club (Mussoorie hills) to mark the Haryali Teej festival in Mussoorie last evening.

Candidates begin door-to-door campaigning in Kumaon region
Pithoragarh, July 31
Candidates contesting for the posts of zila panchayat chairman in the Kumaon region have now started door-to-door canvassing and bargaining with the elected members to become presidents of their respective zila panchayats. Most of the candidates in these elections are contesting as Independents and above party line.

Mayor constitutes committees to study uncovered properties 
Dehradun, July 31
Mayor Vinod Chamoli presides over a meeting of the working commitee of the Municipal Corporation in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph A day after ruckus was created over the under assessment of Jakhan based Pacific Mall, Mayor Vinod Chamoli constituted three committees to study the uncovered properties in the state capital.


Mayor Vinod Chamoli presides over a meeting of the working commitee of the Municipal Corporation in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Students planning to contest elections a worried lot
Mussoorie, July 31
Student leaders canvass for elections at DAV PG College in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph The recent directives of the High Court to grant admission in the colleges, only on merit basis, have left many students planning to contest college student union elections a worried lot in Mussoorie.






Student leaders canvass for elections at DAV PG College in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Ex-CPI leader forms new political outfit
Dehradun, July 31
Jagat Martoliya, a former executive member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), launched Uttarakhand Janmorcha, a new political outfit, here today.

UKD to take out march for forgiveness from October 2 
Dehradun, July 31
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) has decided to take out a statewide shama yatra (march for forgiveness) from October 2 to regain public confidence and strengthen the party.

Two IPS officers transferred
Dehradun, July 31
In a minor reshuffle in the Police Department, the state government has transferred two senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers here today.

Transfer of doctors fails to take place
Dehradun, July 31
The Directorate of Medical Health and Family Welfare failed to affect transfer of government doctors belonging to Provincial Medical and Health Services today, which was the last date for affecting transfers for this session.

Nainital Bank celebrates foundation day in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, July 31
Nainital Bank celebrated its 93rd foundation day by distributing stationery to the primary school students at their branch in Landour Bazaar today.

Three die as car falls into gorge near Mussoorie 
Mussoorie, July 31
Three persons were reported dead while two others were injured when the driver of a car lost control over the vehicle and fell into a deep gorge on Mussoorie-Tehri bypass road near Batagad, around 4 km from Mussoorie, yesterday night.

SFI mourns Swaroop’s death
Dehradun, July 31
District committee of the Students Federation of India (SFI) organised a condolence meeting today to mourn the sad demise of Jagendra Swaroop.

Forest officials booked
Dehradun, July 31
A case has been registered against unidentified forest officials and employees in the death of Tarun Kumar (32), who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in an under- construction building of the Forest Department at Dilaram Bazaar on Tuesday.

Old couple, grandson killed
Pithoragarh, July 31
An old couple and their young grandson were brutally murdered in a remote village of Almora district last night. The Almora police said today that they suspected the trio was killed by their tenants.

Minor raped, accused held
Dehradun, July 31 A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour yesterday. According to the victim’s father, their neighbour Pankaj (19) allegedly raped his daughter when she was alone at home. 

Players in action during a match in the Nemidas Memorial District Football League played at Pavilion Ground in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph U’Khand police pip KVS Sporting
Dehradun, July 31
Uttarakhand Police Football Team thrashed KVS Sporting by 6-0 in the ongoing Nemidas Memorial District Football League played at Pavilion Ground here today.



Players in action during a match in the Nemidas Memorial District Football League played at Pavilion Ground in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph







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Doon hospital starved of funds
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
With mounting liabilities of Rs 5 crore and a miniscule budgetary release of Rs 2 crore in July for the first quarter of the ongoing financial year against the outlay of Rs 11. 35 crore, the Doon hospital is in the midst of an acute financial crisis.

An amount of Rs 2 crore was released as its first instalment against the outlay of Rs 11.35 crore for 2014-2015. The entire amount went towards payment of a portion of pending dues, but such is the state of the hospital that it has once again accumulated liabilities and does not have enough money to pay salaries to contractual staff.

The hospital expenditure includes expenses on local purchase, general medicines, payment of salaries to contractual employees, including doctors hired, Class IV staff, ward boys, guards and surgical, oxygen supply and purchase of glucose, purchase of dye and contrast and daily diet for patients.

“By all accounts, we should have received the first instalment in the first quarter, but we received it in July when the second quarter has already begun. The bill amounting to Rs 80 lakh is pending incurred while making local purchase of medicines, Rs 1.5 crore is pending under general medicines, Rs 80 lakh towards surgical. Besides Rs 15 lakh per month is incurred on salaries paid to contractual staff,” said a senior official.

In fact, it is a not the first time that the hospital finds itself in a crisis that has much to do with the Uttarakhand Government’s tight-fisted approach.

“For this financial year, the Department of Finance released a total of Rs 8 lakh for all state district hospitals and the Doon Hospital received an amount of Rs 2 crore as first instalment for this financial year,” said a senior doctor.

Meanwhile, accepting that the financial crisis was indeed forcing the hospital to cut corners, Doon Hospital Principal Superintendent Dr RS Aswal said the hospital would try to meet the crisis but in case things become difficult, it would have no choice but to raise the demand for release of another instalment. 

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Employees seek renewal of contract
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Annoyed for not renewing contract of employees, agitators staged a protest at the education directorate here today.

The agitators have threatened to intensify the agitation if the state education department does not accede to their year-long pending demands.

The agitators have lamented that contract of lab assistants and office assistants under Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhijan have not been renewed despite the fact the memorandum was submitted many times to top bureaucrats.

The agitators said that they are continuously providing their services in government schools across the state even after their contract expired the last year.

The agitators have threatened to intensify their agitation if the state education department does not take effective steps to address their grievances.

Subhash Lakhera, BP Sati, Anand, Preeti Uniyal, Yogendra, Shivprasad Raturi, Jagat Singh Rana, Rajendra Singh Rawat and Yogendra were present.

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Take action against government, Jan Morcha tells Qureshi 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Raghunath Singh Negi, president of Jan Sangharsh Morcha-cum-former vice-president of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam said Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi did not summon any Congress leader, despite submitting a memorandum highlighting different scams.

He said the morcha activists would stage a protest if the Governor does not take effective steps to take action against the Congress-led state government.

The activists were led by Raghunath Singh Negi, who submitted a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee, through SDM Arvind Pandey, Vikasnagar today.

The activists lamented that the memorandum was submitted many times to the Governor, but steps were yet to be taken against the government.

He said the Congress-led state government had completely failed to maintain law and order situation in the state.

Akash Panwar, Vijayram Sharma, Dr OP Panwar, Mohammad Arif, Indresh, Darban Singh Aswal, Jaidev Negi, Teeka Ram and Jaswant Saklani were also present on the occasion. 

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BSNL staff for end to privatisation
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
The agitated BSNL employees staged a protest at the office of chief general manager of BSNL here today. The agitators have threatened to intensify their agitation if the department does not take effective steps to address their grievances.

The agitators under the banner of Sanchar Nigam Executive Association staged a protest here today. The agitators lamented that the government is yet to take effective steps to address their grievances despite the fact that a memorandum highlighting their demands was submitted many times to officials. The agitators also shouted anti-department slogans during agitation.

The agitators demanded end to privatisation.

The association members threatened to intensify their agitation if the government did not take effective steps to address their grievances.

SS Rauthan, Jai Vikram Singh, Sanjay Kumar Arya, Arvind Dhiman, PK Sharma, Balak Ram, Rajesh Nautiyal and others were present.

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Leopard menace gives sleepless nights to villagers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Leopard movement has become a common sight in villages on the outskirts of Dehradun.

Leopard population has seen a surge in the state in the recent years. They are also coming into conflict with humans in Dehradun villages that are located near forests.

One such locality is Premnagar, where leopard movement has been a continuous sight for the past several years. The latest being only a few days back when a leopard was witnessed inside a wedding hall. The leopard injured a woman and caused panic among people.

A leopard was witnessed yesterday at Bajawala village that lies in the close proximity to Premnagar. The leopard entered a courtyard of a house belonging to one Sarita Devi, who saw the leopard and raised an alarm.

She rushed to rescue her two kids who were playing in the house. Hearing her cries, the leopard fled away.

The Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, shares its campus boundary wall with Bajawala village. The institute is also facing leopard problem for the past several years. The local villagers are blaming the forest authorities of doing a little to protect them from the prowling leopards.

On the other hand, the Dehradun division forest authorities said they were quick in responding whenever they came across leopard incursions in habitations.

They said apart from regular patrolling in the affected villages, they also installed cages to trap leopard.

On the prowl

Leopard population has seen a surge in the state in the past few years. The incidents of man-animal conflict are common in Dehradun villages located near forests.

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HC gives three weeks to Forest Dept to reply on initiatives taken 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
The Nainital High Court has sought reply from the state forest authorities over the issue of conservation of “bugyal” (alpine meadow) in Chamoli district.

A combined Bench of Acting Chief Justice VK Bisht and Justice UC Dhyani sought reply from the state forest authorities within three weeks.

Bugyals, either flat or sloped meadows, are carpeted with green grass and seasonal flowers. At elevations ranging between 3,300 m and 4,000 m, these alpine meadows remain snow covered in winters.

In a petition filed at the Nainital High Court, DS Patwal, president of the Aali Bedni Bagjee Bugyal Sanrakshan Samiti, had alleged rampant commercialisation of bugyals.

Patwal said fiber huts were coming up in bugyals in the name of tourism promotion. He alleged there had been a little effort on part of authorities to conserve these bugyals.

Significantly, the court, who sought reply from the state forest authorities, also expressed concern over the threat to bugyals from a fern, which has taken over sacred meadows. According to the petitioner, this fern, identified as drynaria mallis and popularly known as Parjeeve Bail, was proving detrimental to Aali Bedni Bagjee bugyals and needed immediate eradication.

Besides being a repository of water, these bugyals keep immense importance as they are the home of many animals such as bharal, thar, deer, leopards, bears, hares and many species of birds. The recession of Bugyal is bound to have repercussion in the entire ecosystem in the fragile Garhwal Himalayas.

Interestingly, the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, had raised concern over the neglect of bugyals, particularly over the invasion of trees into bugyals. The FRI authorities had even asked the Space Application Centre authorities in Ahmedabad for satellite images to reach to exact nature of ingress made by these tree species. 

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KM Joseph takes oath as Chief Justice
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Governor Aziz Qureshi today administered oath of office to Justice KM Joseph as the ninth Chief Justice of Uttarakhand.

Justice Joseph has taken charge of this post after the retirement of Justice Barin Ghosh on June 3, 2014.

The oath taking ceremony was held at the High Court auditorium in Nainital.

Justice BK Bisht, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, Justice Alok Singh, Justice Sarvesh Gupta, Justice UC Dhyani, Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridyesh were also present.

Born on June 17, 1958, in Kerela, Chief Justice Joseph qualified from Government College in Kochi and Law College in Ernakullam.

In the year 1982, he started practicing as an advocate in civil in Delhi.

Subsequently, he was appointed as a permanent judge in the High Court of Kerela. Before coming to Nainital, Justice Mathew was serving as a senior Judge in the High Court of West Bengal. 

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CM, Qureshi express grief over cloudburst incident 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Governor Aziz Qureshi and Chief Minister Harish Rawat have expressed grief over the loss of lives, livestock and damage to property due to flash floods caused by cloudburst at Jakhniyali (Nautar) village in Tehri district.

Governor Aziz Qureshi said he was saddened to learn about the tragedy in which six people lost their lives.

He expressed condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat also wished speedy recovery to the injured.

He directed the district administration to provide ex-gratia relief to the family members of the deceased and medical assistance to the injured.

He also directed the officials to speed up the search and rescue efforts at the site.

Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat and state Congress president Kishore Upadhyaya was also present at the disaster site. 

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Dhasmana’s directive to overcome water shortage
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee, has instructed officials to take effective steps to overcome shortage of potable water in Prempur Mafi in Dehradun. The residents expressed concern that shortage of potable water has increased manifold due to ongoing work of laying sewage pipeline in the colony.

After repeated requests from residents, Dhasmana along with executive engineer of Payjal Nigam, SC Pant, and executive engineer of Jal Sansthan, RLS Bisht, visited Prempur Mafi today. He told officials to take effective steps to address grievances of residents.

The residents lamented that they have been traversing several kilometres to quench their thirst for the last four months. The officials assured residents that the department will lay additional 500-metre potable water pipeline with an aim to overcome the problem of shortage of potable water in the colony.

The executive engineer of Jal Sansthan, RLS Bisht, informed that residents are facing shortage of potable water due to low discharge from tubewell. He assured that the problem would be overcome soon in order to supply potable water to residents.

Dhasmana instructed officials to instal mini-tubewell in order to overcome the problem of shortage of potable water in the region. The officials said that water tankers would be used to meet with the demand of water in the colony.

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Plantation drive launched

Dehradun, July 31
The Ganga cell of the BJP launched a fortnight plantation drive here yesterday. Activists urged the masses to plant more and more saplings to conserve the environment.

The programme was launched by Harish Semwal at a function held at the Kandoli park.

President of the BJP Mahanagar cell Neelam Sehgal said everybody should come forward for plantation. Praveen Sharma, Amardeep Jaiswal, Urmilla Tripathi, Rajendra Vyas, Neetu Valmiki, Vijaya Rawat, Dharmendra Dondi and Yaswant Dutta were present. — TNS 

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Girls trained in ways to deal with crime
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
More than 500 girl students attended a one-day convention organised by the Garhwal unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Suman Nagar, Dharampur, today.

The convention aimed at spreading awareness among the girls in the wake of rising incidents of crime against them.

The participants were told about the reasons behind the rising number of crime against women and the ways to deal with it. They were made aware about their role in society. A resolution was also passed about the present condition of women in Uttarakhand.

Addressing the participants, Dr Geeta Khanna, a gynaecologist, talked about women-related problems and violence against them in society.

Other speakers also shared their views on various topics like women empowerment.

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Mayors’ council conference

Dehradun, July 31
The Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) will be holding the All-India Mayors’ Council Conference from August 23-24. The two-day conference is likely to see the participation of 153 mayors from across the country.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli said issues pertaining to the local bodies would be discussed at the conference. “Among the raging topics, the implementation of the 74th Amendment Act, which has mandated the empowerment of the urban local bodies, will be taken up by the council members,” said Chamoli. — TNS

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BJP, Cong in direct fight for posts of ZP chairman
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
The BJP and the Congress will have a direct fight in at least seven districts of the state in the elections for the posts of chairman and vice chairman of 12 zila panchayats on August 5.

Though the Uttarakhand Congress has shied away from extending support to the candidates standing for the August 5 panchayat elections for the posts of chairman and vice chairman, the BJP has gone out and declared official candidates for the post of chairman in 10 districts while in Almora district it has extended support to Maya Negi. The Congress has already opened its account in Udham Singh Nagar zila panchayat with a lone Congress supported candidate Eashwar Prasad Gangwar filing his nomination papers for the post of chairman and Sandeep Cheema being the lone candidate filing his nomination papers for the post of vice chairman. They have been elected unopposed.

Uttarakhand BJP chief Teerath Singh Rawat has claimed that the BJP will win at least nine zila panchayat chairman seats in the state. The Congress too is claiming an equal number, if not less.

For the posts of chairman in seven districts the fight is between BJP and Congress. In the prestigious Dehradun zila panchayat the fight is between BJP candidate Madhu Chauhan and Chaman Singh, who is being supported unofficially by the Congress Party.

A total of 28 nominations were filed for the post of chairman while 31 nominations were filed for the post of vice-chairman. The final picture will emerge after the withdrawal of names on August 2.

For the post of chairman maximum number of four nominations have been filed in Bageshwar while in Nainital three and Pithoragarh three nominations each have been filed. In the remaining districts only two nominations each have been filed indicating bipolar contest between the BJP and the Congress. 

Straight fight

The fight is between BJP and the Congress for the posts of chairman in seven districts. In the prestigious Dehradun zila panchayat, the fight is between BJP candidate Madhu Chauhan and Chaman Singh, who is tactically being supported by the Congress.

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Rachna, Beena adjudged Teej Queen
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 31
Rachna Bhatnagar, Beena Goyal, Neeta and Nandni were declared Teej Queen in a contest held at a hotel under the aegis of the Lioness Club (Mussoorie hills) to mark the Haryali Teej festival in Mussoorie last evening.

Rachna was adjudged Teej Queen in the below 45 years age group while Beena was got the title in the above 45 years age group category. Neeta Rawat was adjudged Guest Teej Queen while Nandni Agarwal was declared Baby Teej Queen.

Beena Mall, wife of Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall, gave away citations and awards to the winners of various events.

Earlier, Monika Aagrwal, president of the club, welcomed all members and wished them on the festival. Club secretary Nimakant and members Sarika Agarwal, Monika Goyal, Madhulika Mathur, Madhuri Sharma, Neelam Nangia, and Poonam Juneja were present.

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Candidates begin door-to-door campaigning in Kumaon region
Our correspondent

Pithoragarh, July 31
Candidates contesting for the posts of zila panchayat chairman in the Kumaon region have now started door-to-door canvassing and bargaining with the elected members to become presidents of their respective zila panchayats. Most of the candidates in these elections are contesting as Independents and above party line.

In Almora, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts of the Kumaon region, many candidates who have crossed the party line and have filed their nominations as Independent candidates, have started claiming victory, asserting that they have more contacts than the official candidates of their party. “I have support of more than 17 members of zila panchayat,” said Khushal Singh Piplia, a BJP rebel and Independent candidate for the post in Pithoragarh.

In Almora some elected zila panchayat members from the Congress have formed a front to facilitate election of zila panchayat president from among the members elected from four backward blocks of Chaukhutia, Ranikhet, Bhikiasain and Saltt. There has been a revolt against party candidate Parvati Mehra by nominating Dr Maya Negi. Pithoragarh BJP has faced a rebel in the candidature of Khushal Singh Piplia who has claimed to have support of an influential BJP leader of the state.

In Bageshwar district, where Congress did not announce name of candidate for the zila panchayat chairperson as it sensed a revolt againt the decision, three Congress candidates have filed their nominations for the post. “Senior Congress leaders accompanied all candidates, hoping two of them will withdraw their names from the fray. The candidates have claimed to have taken majority numbers in their support,” said Ghansyam Joshi, a journalist based in Bageshwar .

In Champawat district, local BJP MLA Puran Phartiyal had to come in self-defence and denial mode after the police have claimed that one Dev Ram had informed the police that his zila panchayat member wife Meena Devi was missing and he had suspected MLA’s hand in her abduction to finish her claim to get nominated for the post of zila panchayat vice chairperson. “ While Dev Ram was with me all the time, I suspect Congress hand in this conspiracy to defame me and I want top level inquiry on the incident,” said Puran Singh Phartiyal, BJP MLA from Lohaghat. 

Poll tricks

In Almora, some elected zila panchayat members from the Congress have formed a front to ensure that a member from four backward blocks of Chaukhutia, Ranikhet, Bhikiasain and Saltt is elected chairperson.

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Mayor constitutes committees to study uncovered properties 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
A day after ruckus was created over the under assessment of Jakhan based Pacific Mall, Mayor Vinod Chamoli constituted three committees to study the uncovered properties in the state capital.

The three committees, comprising of four members of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation’s (DMC) working member committee, have been assigned 20 wards each.

Elaborating further, Chamoli said the main task of the committee members would be to study the commercial properties in their respective wards and prepare a report of those properties that had not been assessed.

“Action will be taken on the feedback submitted by the committee members,” he added.

It may be mentioned here that on Wednesday, a number of councilors had created a ruckus during the DMC working member committee meeting. They alleged the under-assessment of the mall being operated by the Pacific Development Corporation Limited at Rs 2.83 crore.

The decision to form the committees came after some councilors led by Congress councilor Jagdish Dhiman alleged that the newly constructed shopping complex was not covered by the DMC in the present assessment.

To tackle the sanitation menace of the state capital, the Mayor gave a nod to the civic body to purchase dustbins. However, reacting to the unsanctioned purchase of dustbins made by former Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Ashok Kumar, the Mayor said: “In future no purchase even in public interest will be sanctioned without the prior approval of the committee or board members. Any purchases will have to take place through proper channel and sanctions from the authorities concerned.”

Meanwhile, on the second day of the committee meeting, 26 disputed cases regarding mutation (change of title ownership) of properties were brought before the members.

The panel gave decision in 18 cases, while a fresh date was given for three others. A case related to property dispute was quashed by the members and decision was reserved in the remaining cases as parties were found to be absent in the proceedings.

Sushil Gupta, Bhupendra Singh Kathait, Ajay Singhal, Rajkumar Kakkar, Amita Singh, Beena Bisht, Vinay Kohli, Manmohan Singh Dhaney, Jagdish Dhiman, Omendra Bhati, Beena Uniyal and Neeraj Sethi were also present. 

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Students planning to contest elections a worried lot
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 31
The recent directives of the High Court to grant admission in the colleges, only on merit basis, have left many students planning to contest college student union elections a worried lot in Mussoorie.

The Municipal Post Graduate College is the only college in Mussoorie that caters to the students interested in higher studies in the area.

The college at the start of the new session every year also becomes a centre for student politics with various student factions trying to get as many number of students admitted in the college to increase their vote counts, in order to gain upper hand in the student body elections.

Not any more. With the recent High Court directives to adhere to the criteria of merit during the admissions in the colleges, various student factions vying for the coveted student body are demanding increase in number increase of seats at MPG College.

The leaders from the students wings of political parties, NSUI and ABVP, are of the view that if merit criterion is introduced in MPG College, the poor students from government schools will be left out and have no other option to seek further education in the state.

The Tribune has learnt that the state government has pleaded in the court to provide some relaxation in the matter and the hearing will come up on August 7 in High Court. Until then the various student factions from the political parties are awaiting the decision with their fingers crossed in the matter.

However, many meritorious students aiming to seek admission in the MPG College are in favour of merit criteria in the college as it will curb the practice of admitting students who come only to vote during the college students body elections.

The earlier practice in the MPG College has been that around 700 students are admitted in the first year, of which most of them do not attend the college for even a single day, as their sole purpose is to vote for the candidate who has paid their admission fee allegedly.

The former teachers from the college were of the view that admission should be done on merit basis so that the teachers can focus on teaching the students in a much better way.

Presently, even the teachers do not have the knowledge about the number of students in the class, said former teachers of the college.

When contacted the Principal of MPG College, Sudhir Gairola, said that the college has received the directives of the High Court for ensuring the merit criteria for admissions in first year as prescribed by the university.

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Ex-CPI leader forms new political outfit
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Jagat Martoliya, a former executive member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), launched Uttarakhand Janmorcha, a new political outfit, here today.

Martoliya, while addressing a press conference, said the newly formed party would focus on six districts and develop them as a fertile ground for the party. “The state was in dire need of a new forum. It was only after having numerous consultations with the supporters and well-wishers that the outfit has been formed and formally introduced. Even after 14 years of its creation, the state does not have a party that can fight for the public causes. Therefore, it was decided to form Uttarakhand Janmorcha,” he added.

“Focus will be laid on every village falling in the six districts. We aim to strengthen the party from the grassroots level. A five-member committee will be formed in the coming days that will draft the party’s manifesto,” said Martoliya.

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UKD to take out march for forgiveness from October 2 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) has decided to take out a statewide shama yatra (march for forgiveness) from October 2 to regain public confidence and strengthen the party.

UKD central president Trivender Singh Panwar, while addressing party workers here today, said they had divided the state into 14 segments for carrying out the yatra. The first phase would comprise 20 rounds of one week each. After a break of 10 days, the second phase would be launched.

During the yatra, the party workers would be conducting a door-to-door survey in the entire state. “We will seek forgiveness from the public for the mistakes done in the past and also ask them about our shortcomings. The points will be utilised in improving the party’s position in the state,” he added.

“The UKD had played a prominent role in the formation of the state. However, both the Congress and the BJP have done nothing but ruined the prosperous state. The sole motive of our party is to save the state from further deterioration at the hands of the Congress and the BJP,” said Panwar.

Among those present were Manmohan Lakheda, Latafat Hussain, Geeta Bisht, Rekha Miyan, Nagender Raturi, Mohan Singh Thapa, Sufi Khalik, Anup Negi and Mahavir Rana.

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Two IPS officers transferred
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
In a minor reshuffle in the Police Department, the state government has transferred two senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers here today.

According to police headquarters, Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal, Inspector General of Police (IG) Training, has been made the new IG Provisioning and Modernisation (P&M) while another IG Rank officer Dr PVK Prasad has been made the new IG Training.

Dr PVK Prasad has recently come back to his parent cadre after completing his deputation tenure as the Principal of Central Detective Training School (CDTS) in Hyderabad.

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Transfer of doctors fails to take place

Dehradun, July 31
The Directorate of Medical Health and Family Welfare failed to affect transfer of government doctors belonging to Provincial Medical and Health Services today, which was the last date for affecting transfers for this session.

For the past two days there have been rumours of carrying out the promotional transfers of 76 doctors of the rank of senior medical officers to the rank of joint directors. Nothing happened on the last day today.

The transfers were to be carried out by the Directorate of Medical, Health and Family Welfare and now with the last date already ending, sources claim the government may be forced to intervene and affect the transfers by issuing orders on the back date.

The inaction has put brakes on the transfer of nurses and pharmacists, which was to follow after the transfer of doctors. — TNS

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Nainital Bank celebrates foundation day in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 31
Nainital Bank celebrated its 93rd foundation day by distributing stationery to the primary school students at their branch in Landour Bazaar today.

The chief guest, Mussoorie Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall, and his wife Beena Mall distributed the stationery to the primary school students of the town. Manmohan Singh Mall commended the efforts of the bank in providing loans to the people at easy interest. A customers meet was organised at the branch of the bank on the occasion.

The bank manager, Rahul Goel, speaking on the occasion said that the bank with around 117 branches in five states was growing speedily and was also planning to open more branches in the state of Uttarakhand.

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Three die as car falls into gorge near Mussoorie 
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, July 31
Three persons were reported dead while two others were injured when the driver of a car lost control over the vehicle and fell into a deep gorge on Mussoorie-Tehri bypass road near Batagad, around 4 km from Mussoorie, yesterday night.

The police that came to know about the incident only today morning, rushed to the spot along with the rescue team from Indo Tibetan Police, who recovered the bodies of the three deceased.

The deceased have been identified as Neeturam, Ram and Amit, residents of Chandralok, Shadara in Delhi, while the two injured Monish Kumar Goyal and Pankaj have been rushed to Doon Hospital and were reported to be in critical condition.

According to the local residents, the women folk who were in the jungle to collect fodder today morning noticed the car that had fallen into the deep gorge on Tehri bypass road near Batagad and informed the police immediately.

The police recovered the body of the deceased after a struggle of around five hours with the assistance of ITBP jawans as the car had plunged into a 600-feet deep gorge.

The injured Pankaj said that he lost control of the vehicle while returning from Dhanaulti late night and the car fell into the deep gorge. He also said that the absence of the guard rails also did not help the cause.

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SFI mourns Swaroop’s death
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
District committee of the Students Federation of India (SFI) organised a condolence meeting today to mourn the sad demise of Jagendra Swaroop.

Swaroop was the general secretary of Dayanand Educational Institutions in Dehradun.

He was also the secretary of the management committee of DAV PG College. District Secretary of SFI Devendra Rawal threw light on the life of Jagendra Swaroop.

“His contribution in the field of education will be remembered. Apart from an educationist, he was a six-time member of the legislative council in Uttar Pradesh,” said Rawal.

State joint secretary of SFI Abhishek Bhandari said Swaroop played an important role to improve education system in DAV PG College.

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Forest officials booked
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
A case has been registered against unidentified forest officials and employees in the death of Tarun Kumar (32), who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in an under- construction building of the Forest Department at Dilaram Bazaar on Tuesday.

According to Dalanwala police officials, the case has been registered on the complaint of Tarun Kumar’s wife, who has blamed forest officials and employees for the death of her husband.

Reportedly, Tarun, a resident of Adhoiwala, worked as a driver in the Forest Department on contractual basis and was removed from his service almost two months back. According to the allegation levelled by the family members, Tarun was going from pillar to post in the Forest Department to get his outstanding dues.

It is worth recalling that Tarun was found on the pavement of the ground floor of an under-construction building of the Forest Department at Dilaram Bazaar with several injury marks on his body. But his mobile phone was found on the 5th floor of the building. Meanwhile, the postmortem report has revealed that multiple internal injuries and fractures were the cause of death of Tarun Kumar after which police officials have been claiming that Tarun might have fell from the 5th floor from where his mobile phone was found.

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Old couple, grandson killed
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, July 31
An old couple and their young grandson were brutally murdered in a remote village of Almora district last night. The Almora police said today that they suspected the trio was killed by their tenants.

The police said the decomposed bodies of Prem Singh (62), his wife Dhana Devi (60) and their 12 years’ old grandson Ankit Singh were found in their house at Saljara hemlet of Galli village in Bhanoli subdivision of the district. “A nauseating smell like that of rotting human flesh was emanating from the house situated at a remote corner of Galli village. The villagers suspecting something wrong entered the house and were aghast to see the decomposed bodies of the house owner, his wife and their grandson. They immediately informed the police. The trio were apparently killed brutally,” said Ashok Bhatt, SP, Almora. The police suspect the old couple and their grandson were murdered on Monday last.

Bhatt said the police suspected the tenants, who were working as labourers at a nearby construction site, were the killers as they are absconding after the incident. “Prem Singh, who ran a water mill, had good relations with the labourers. The latter took advantage of Prem’s affection towards them and killed him and other family members brutally,” said the SP. Police teams have been dispatched to nab the killers.

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Minor raped, accused held

Dehradun, July 31
A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour yesterday. According to the victim’s father, their neighbour Pankaj (19) allegedly raped his daughter when she was alone at home. 

The victim narrated the incident to her parents in the evening, following which they lodged a complaint at the nearest police station. The medical examination of the girl has confirmed rape. The police arrested the accused from Deepnagar yesterday. He has been sent to jail. — TNS

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U’Khand police pip KVS Sporting
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 31
Uttarakhand Police Football Team thrashed KVS Sporting by 6-0 in the ongoing Nemidas Memorial District Football League played at Pavilion Ground here today.

Sourabh scored two goals in the 29th and 56th minute of the match, while Sher Singh, Himanshu, Beer Singh and Amit scored one goal each for their team.

In the second match of the day, Gypsy Football Club defeated Chandrabani Football Club, 2-1, with Sourabh scoring two goals in the 33rd and 52nd minute of the match. Lucky scored the lone goal for Chandrabani in the 31st minute of the match. 

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