WIDENING OF CHAKRATA ROAD

Shopkeepers against giving up extra space 

Dehradun January 5
A team of shopkeepers from Chakrata Road met vice-chairman, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), today to discuss their reservation regarding leaving two metres more space from the remaining part of the demolished shops on the road.

VC, BVRC Purushottam, tried to drive home the fact that the space was necessary for parking purpose. The shopkeepers were not content with his explanation and insisted on not giving up any more space. They said they would not tolerate any more demolition of their shops. Shashikant Goyal, president of the Chakrata Road Shopkeepers’ Association, said: “We are hardly left with eight metres of the remaining area. If we leave two metres from it, then we will not be left with much space. Therefore, no one is willing to abide by the MDDA’s direction in this regard.”

The VC said he would clear the MDDA’s stand on the issue in two to three days. Meanwhile, all the 10 mobile towers stood tall over RGM Plaza and were not removed even today. The notices have already been served to the tower owners but they have not come forward in removing them. It is only the Plaza which remains to be demolished on the road as rest of the buildings have been cleared. Others whose shops have been demolished are angry at the authorities for sparing RGM Plaza and are airing their displeasure openly.

The traffic, was, however, opened on the Chakrata Road as the debris has been removed from the road.

The MDDA officials have prepared a new plan for the Chakrata Road, according to which the road will be made six lane instead of four lane as was proposed earlier. The road will be decorated with plants on both the sides and ample footpath area would be provided.

Police drive against illegal liquor, tinted glasses

Policemen check vehicles for liquor and removing tinted strips from a car in Dehradun on Thursday.

Dehradun, January 5
The city police today began its campaign to impound illegal liquor and penalise the owners of vehicles with tinted glasses. In its first such drive, the Dhara police post nabbed an auto driver, Guddu, for carrying 470 small bottles of desi liquor near the Clock Tower.

Under the campaign, any one found carrying objectionable items or arms in vehicles will be arrested. The use of dark films on windowpanes of vehicles has also been banned.

Since a number of vehicles have tinted glasses they will now face a daunting task to remove the dark films all of a sudden.

The tendency to serve liquor to voters also increases during elections. Seeing this police has swung into action to keep a vigilant eye on offenders.

Senior Superintendent of Police GN Goswami said 10 surveillance teams, led by police officials, had been constituted to check suspicious vehicles, transportation of illegal liquor, etc, according to the directions of the Election Commission of India.

Jaspal Rana to join Congress, but his father to stay in BJP

Mussoorie, January 5
The fallout of the distribution of ticket debacle in the Bhartiya Janata Party camp has left the family of ace shooter Jaspal Rana a divided lot. Jaspal Rana after exhausting his energy in seeking the BJP ticket for his father from Dhanolti has finally decided to quit the party and join the Congress.

Narayan Singh Rana, senior BJP leader and also close relative of national president Rajnath Singh, after failing in his effort to convince the high command to re-distribute the ticket in his favour, has also acknowledged that Jaspal Rana is leaving the BJP and joining the Congress.

Narayan Singh Rana making a complete U-turn on his earlier statement said, “Jaspal Rana has been influenced by Rahul Gandhi and his commitment towards the youth of the country and, therefore, had been contemplating joining the Congress since several months and recent events will have also forced him to finally quit the BJP”.

Narayan Singh Rana also said he had no say in his son’s decision but as far as he was concerned, he would remain a loyal soldier of the BJP.

This election has finally divided the father and son duo in two opposite camps thus proving that “politics is an art of possible”.

The Congress by this move is trying to make dent in the vote share of the BJP among the youth. How far they will succeed only time will tell?

Meanwhile, the state Congress leaders are mum over the issue of Jaspal joining the Congress and insiders believe that announcement can come within a day or two. 

Newly formed Janshakti Party to contest 15 seats

Haridwar, January 4

The newly formed local political outfit, Manav Adhikar Janshakti Party, today announced that it would contest 15 seats in the Assembly poll slated for January 30. It also announced that it could contest more seats if the desired candidates were found.

About the party’s agenda, state vice-chief of the party Yashpal Singh Rawat said the purpose of floating the party was to bring in honest and dedicated people in the mainstream of politics.

Yashpal, who will be contesting from the Haridwar (city) segment, said the party had decided to field more than 15 candidates, but it was only possible if they found candidates with a clean image and who were ready to work for the welfare of the people.

State chief of the party Naveen Kumar said an equal representation of people belonging to the hilly and plain areas had been made in the party executive working body.

Party workers’ protest against Khanduri

Dehradun, January 4
In a major embarrassment to Chief Minister B.C Khanduri, who is said to have played a major role in the distribution of the tickets and on whom the central leadership is banking heavily to steer the BJP’s ship in the forthcoming elections, was today given a taste of his own medicine by defiant party workers of Kotdwar, who laid siege of the party headquarters, questioning the logic behind fielding Khanduri from the Kotdwar Assembly seat.

Incensed party workers comprising zila panchayat president and office-bearers of Kotdwar district unit of the BJP said the leadership did not take the sitting MLA (Shailender Singh) Rawat into confidence. “If he was to be made the sacrificial goat, the Chief Minister should have taken him into confidence. But neither Khanduri nor the party leadership took sitting MLA Rawat into confidence,” said Harshvardhan Binjola, vice president of the BJP (Kotdwar Mandal).

Facing the wrath of the party workers since yesterday, the party leaders, who were witness to the protests at the BJP office today, never imagined in their wildest dreams that there would be a revolt against their Chief Minister, who was especially brought back to shore up the party’s dwindling fortunes, ahead of the elections.

In the past president of Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha T.P S Rawat had vacated his Dhumakot seat for Khanduri and then as a quid pro quo move, Khanduri had assured him a Lok sabha berth by tendering resignation from the Garhwal Assembly seat. But this time round denial of seat to Shailender Rawat has angered his supporters. “The elections are before us and Rawat has been tirelessly working in his constituency, but now after he has been left out, it would be difficult for him to look for another seat,” said Kishan Gusain, general secretary of the BJP (Kotdwar Mandal)

In fact the party workers today flayed the central leadership’s reliance on help-book style of electioneering. “There are no manuals available on winning elections. The central leadership has denied the ticket to several sitting MLAs to ward off anti-incumbency. The same rule should apply equally to all the MLAs. But several of them have been given the ticket again,” said Anil Nautiyal, sitting MLA from Karanprayag, who was denied the ticket.

His supporters charged that Harish Pujari, too, managed to get the ticket for Karnprayag Assembly seat because as he was associated with the Bahuguna Vichar Manch, an association that is linked with B.C Khanduri’s family.

Even the senior party watchers say the central leadership’s strategy can come unstuck, if there is no wave in favour of the BJP. “The BJP has tried to project Khanduri as a strong leader but in the absence of a wave, the BJP’s strategy can come unstuck,” said a senior BJP leader.

Khazan Das to fight as Independent

Denied ticket, Sahaspur MLA Rajkumar stages dharna

Dehradun, January 4
Giving vent to discontentment after being denied ticket from Rajpur, Sports Minister Khazan Das today declared that he would fight the elections as an independent. Khazan Das said he had made his intention known to the party that he would be fighting from the Rajpur seat after the Dhanolti seat, from where he is a sitting MLA, was de- reserved.

“I have been a disciplined soldier of the party but there is pressure from my supporters to contest from the Rajpur seat that I had begun to nurture,” he said.

However, he refused to divulge whether he would quit the BJP.

Meanwhile, the sitting MLA from Sahaspur, who was hoping to get the Assembly ticket from Purola, held a sit-in at Gandhi Park.

After remaining incognito yesterday, Rajkumar emerged today only to stage a dharna at Gandhi Park along with his supporters.

“After fighting the election from the plain, Sahaspur, I was keen to go back to the hills to serve my people but I have been denied ticket from Purola,” said Rajkumar.

His supporters added that most of the leaders in the state were migrating to the plains. His was the only case of reverse migration.

While his supporters continued to voice their protest at the BJP party headquarters, he kept himself away from the party headquarters.

Meanwhile, with most of the supporters of former Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank bearing the brunt of the high command’s selection procedure for the Assembly seats, the party office was agog with rumours how the protests have been orchestrated by Nishank himself.

UTTARAKHAND POLLS 2012

Sonia fails to turn up at rally venue Thousands of Congress supporters disappointed; Fog plays spoilsport

Haldwani, January 4
The Congress plans to kick-start the poll campaign in Uttarakhand with a bang ended in a fiasco of sorts as the star campaigner for the opening public rally, party president Sonia Gandhi failed to turn up at the venue.

Thousands of Congress supporters had to go back disappointed as the weather played truant and did not allow Sonia Gandhi to fly to Haldwani on account of the dense fog on the route. With the poor visibility preventing her arrival, it was left to the state-level leadership that was accompanied by a couple of faces from the central organisation to take the event forward. The moment the SPG personnel vanished from the venue, the public got the inkling that Sonia’s programme had been cancelled and started moving out in large numbers.

Some of them with links in the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters could be seen calling up Delhi to make sure whether the programme had actually been cancelled.

Ironically, the rally had initially been scheduled to be held in Rudrapur and later Haldwani was chosen as the venue.

The Congress supporters had come to the MB Postgraduate College Grounds in large numbers from across the region to participate in the rally which was supposed to kickstart Sonia’s campaign schedule for the five poll-bound states. The supporters had started gathering on the spot from 10 am.

Observers feel that despite Sonia’s absence, the rally has proved to be a success as the supporters got to hear what the party had to offer during its campaign and if voted to power. The tone was set by former Cabinet Minister and Congress heavyweight from Haldwani Indira Hridayesh who announced from the stage that the Congress would be setting the state on the path of economic growth if voted to power. She said the party would set up Uttarakhand Financial Corporation to give loans to entrepreneurs at the lesser rates of interest. She also talked about giving an unemployment allowance to the youth.

Hridayesh said apart from providing low-cost housing to the weaker sections of society, the Congress would also provide agricultural loans at 3 per cent rate of interest. She also promised the revival of the Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) unit at Bhimtal.

Interacting with mediapersons amidst the speeches being made from the stage, Union Minister Harish Rawat ruled out that there were differences within the party and claimed that the response of the people for the rally showed that they were desperate for a change.

Lok Sabha member from Almora Pradeep Tamta said the Dalits and minorities had always been safe under the Congress rule.