State to have automatic weather stations, doppler radars

Air Marshal Ajit Tyagi (retd.) lays the foundation stone of the new building
 of the Meteorological Department in Dehradun on Monday.

Dehradun, January 9

For refinement of weather predictions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) will be setting up automatic weather stations at the districts and two doppler weather radars in Uttarakhand for monitoring of areas where heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and hailstorms are expected.

“We intend to use technology for real-time access to data. This kind of data will be helpful for farmers. Presently we are unable to provide such data. The GPRS manned automatic weather stations would be able to monitor hour by hour weather updates. We are also installing doppler weather radars in Mussoorie and Nainital,”said Director General IMD Air Marshal (retd) Ajit Tyagi, while speaking with The Tribune.

He was here in Dehradun to inaugurate the meteorological centre.

He said the district-level automatic weather stations in the states would boost the overall improvement in weather prediction at the all-India level. “Though we have a fairly good number of observatories, all the districts are not covered. This kind of data will be helpful for the farmers also,” he said.

The DG said there was also need to strengthen ground-level weather stations and admitted grey areas in weather prediction depended on local conditions. “These have to be minutely observed. Each weather development has to be monitored right from when it starts and how it proceeds to its culmination point. We have to strengthen our observation systems to the extent that we are able to monitor the randomly occurring weather changes and give timely warning to the people,” he said.

Air Marshal (retd.) Ajit Tyagi also said that two 100-year-old weather observatories are already functional in Mukteshwar and Dehradun. “These observatories, established during the British period, continue to provide us data and are testimony to the fact that the record keeping of data with the help of these observatories has continued uninterrupted,” he said.

Meanwhile, the DG today inaugurated the meteorological Centre to be built on Haridwar road by the CPWD, Dehradun circle. Once the centre becomes operational, it will be able to provide forecast to the farmers, aviation centre and the general public. 

Prominent city leaders file nomination papers amid tight security

Dehradun January 9
Prominent leaders of the city preferred to file their nomination papers today, professed auspicious, in the District Magistrate’s office premises amid tight security arrangements. The weather remained pleasantly sunny till the afternoon. All the leaders had filed their nomination papers, except Bahadur Singh Rawat, city president, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (P), who remained busy in giving statements to media persons and crossed the time limit for filing the nominations. Now he will file the papers tomorrow.

The prominent leaders who filed nomination papers were Manoj Sharma from the BSP from Mussoorie, Tanveer Ahmad from the BSP and Ravinder Kataria of the BJP for the Rajpur seat. Those who filed for the Dharampur seat were Prakash Suman Dhyani from the BJP, Dinesh Aggarwal from the Congress and Haji Salim Ahamed from the BSP.

Phool Singh Lodhi from the BSP was the lone candidate who came to file nominations from Doiwala; so was speaker Harbans Kapoor for Cantt seat.

For the Raipur seat, Maya Mohan Lakhera, Mohan Singh Rawat, both Independent candidates, Ajay Sud of the BSP and Trivender Singh Rawat, Cabinet minister and BJP candidate, filed their nomination papers.

The first one to drop in at the DM’s premises was Dinesh Aggarwal, who filed one set of papers at 11.30 and came again to file the rest. The way he came with fewer supporters for the first round spread the speculations that he hurried for a specific time, as must have been advised by astrologers, to brighten his winning chances. Aggarwal, who may strike a hat-trick with this election, said his priorities would be to beautify the state with better infrastructure, make it the most developed state and provide the fundamental amenities to voters of his segment.

The leaders continued to come with a crowd of their supporters, beating drums, airing slogans and dancing in the form of procession, which defied the modal code of conduct to some extent. Instead of the leader and four of his supporters, as was permissible, hordes of supporters barged inside the nomination room. They also raised slogans inside the office premises, though later on the police became alert and stopped them from doing so. BSP leader Tanveer Ahmed’s caravan came with blue flags and proceeded inside the premises but was stopped at a little distance from the nomination rooms. It was Dinesh Aggarwal and Trivender Singh Rawat’s rallies which were rated biggest among all.

The supporters of Aggarwal seemed genuine but those of Rawat appeared hired, as a lot of buses were seen parked outside his residence.

Speaker Harbans Kapoor came with his wife and son. Beaming with joy, Kapoor, who fought the Assembly elections eight times and registered victory six times, said: “Elections are the biggest festival of democracy, where the public either rewards or punishes the candidates, taking into account the sum total of their work done for the welfare of the people for a period of five years.” He said he was ready to get the verdict from the people and meet the challenges which would come his way.

Vinay Kataria, BJP candidate for Rajpur seat, who is fighting for the first time, said the organisation had rewarded him for his services spanning two decades by giving an opportunity to serve people through active politics.

Trivender Singh Rawat exuded confidence, saying that by seeing the surging enthusiasm among the public for BJP leaders, the party was most likely to return to power this time.

Ajay Sud of the BSP expressed diverse opinion, saying that the BSP was slated to do extremely well as people were aggrieved with both the BJP and the Congress for their tainted leaders and poor administration.

Tanveer Singh, BSP candidate, said his priorities would include checking migration, simplification of issuance of caste certificate and ownership rights to people of slum colonies. 

CM files papers from Kotdwar

Dehradun, January 9
Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C.Khanduri today filed his nomination papers from Kotdwar Assembly segment for the forthcoming state Assembly elections at the district headquaters of Pauri Garhwal.
Khanduri, who reached Pauri, had to face heavy snowfall as the weather turned bad. The Chief Minister had to walk for 7 km as vehicles were unable to move on the slippery road, due to heavy snowfall.
Khanduri met a large number of supporters en route to Pauri town, where he filed his nomination papers. 


UJM, UKD(D), UPP join hands
Dehradun, January 9
The Uttarakhand Jan Manch (UJM), the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (D) and the Uttarkhand Parivartan Party (UPP) have joined hands together. Luxman Singh Chufal, officiating president of the UKD(D), said their forum consisted of active social and political people and organisations who were committed for the cause of the state and would address the problems of the hill people.
The symbol, flag, name of the forum, office-bearers, minimum common programme (MCP) and election programmes will be decided by January 14.
Rajan Todriya, general secretary, UJM, said they were constantly in touch with rebel leaders of the BJP and the Congress who were likely to join their forum.
He said the way the number of disgruntled leaders were on the rise both in BJP and Congress, it seemed the internal democracy had died down in these parties and only the supremacy of the high command was ruling above everything.
Rajiv Kothari, spokesperson of the UPP, said their combined forum would give a stable altenative against the misrule of the BJP and the Congress and would not compromise on moral principles in its bid to usurp power. In the same vain, he said they would also not let an anti-people government to seize power in the state as well.
A committee under the chairmanship of Gandhian socialite Virender Penuli has been constituted which will have two members of each of the party and one each nominated member from BJP and Congress rebels in the committee which will formulate issues pertaining to the CMP.
The UPP was earlier a part of the the Uttarakhand United Regional Front and had broken away from it blaming the UKD (P) president Trivender Singh Panwar for his arrogance and dictatorship.


Janata Dal (United) to contest 20 seats
Haridwar, January 9

The Janata Dal (United) today announced the names of its candidates for 20 Assembly seats in the state.

The party is fielding candidates in an equal proportion in districts both in plain and hill areas. In previous elections the party was seen mainly confined to districts of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar in the plains and Gangotri,Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Lansdowne in the hill areas.

The party has given ticket to three women, including a Muslim, from Laksar, Roorkee and Jhabreda seats.

State chief of the JD (U) Pramod Kumar Sharma told The Tribune that as the party had got a good response in the previous elections in the state, the party high command decided to field candidates from at least 20 seats.

He said the final list of candidates had been announced in consultation with party president Sharad Yadav.

Sharma said the party would take up local issues of unemployment, migration, a separate hill policy, peasants and other related issues in the elections.

Shiv Raj Singh, national general secretary of the party, said the party would focus on national issues such as inflation, Jan Lokpal Bill, Food Security Bill and corruption to expose the hidden pact between the Congress and the BJP.

ND Tiwari manages ticket for favourites

Dehradun, January 9
Veteran Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister N.D.Tewari, who was sidelined by his party following the sex scandal expose in the Hyderbad Raj Bhawan in December 2009, has been able to pressurise the party high command to get the party ticket for his own favourites with active support and collaboration of party general secretary Birender Singh, much to the chagrin of genuine party men for the forthcoming Assembly poll.
Aryaendra Sharma, a personal assistant, and Manish Tewari, a nephew of Tewari, were given the party ticket by the party high command. Aryaendra Sharma will fight from Sahaspur Assembly segment in Dehradun while Manish Tewari will contest from Kashipur Assembly segment in Udham Singh Nagar district.
Interestingly, N.D.Tewari, a veteran Congress leader, played his cards well and with active support of party general secretary and in charge of party affairs of Uttarakhand Birender Singh, managed to pressurise the party high command to bend to his demand for party nominations for his own men.
Tewari, who was caught on camera with three women indulging in an immoral act as Governor of Andhra Pradesh, had to resign in December 2009. Falling from favour of Sonia Gandhi, Tewari had returned to Dehradun to occupy the official residence provided by the state government as former Chief Minister on FRI campus. He had been active socially and was participating in several programmes.
However, since Birender Singh, a Congress leader from Haryana became the general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand, the hopes of Tewari soared as he had been a close associate in the past. True to expectations, Birender Singh overnight turned Aryaendra Sharma into a political leader in white khadi from the tainted personal assistant of ageing Tewari.
Aryaendra Sharma started participating in Congress party meetings and programmes, which was resented by party leaders and workers. But none of the senior leaders dared challenge Birender Singh as state Congress chief Yashpal Arya, party MPs Satpal Maharaj and Vijay Bahuguna are known supporters of Tewari.
However, the party ticket to Tewari favourites was opposed by Union Minister of Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary affairs Harish Rawat, a strong political opponent of Tewari, who is also a front runner for the post of Chief Minister in case Congress wins the Assembly polls.
To scuttle the opposition by the Harish Rawat camp, Tewari announced that he would field candidates under Nirantar Vikas Samiti, a social organisation floated by him in all the 70 Assembly seats of the state.
Birender Singh, party in charge, and Satpal Maharaj immediately rushed to Tewari to pacify him and pressurised senior party leaders in the national Capital to give in to the demand of Tewari or otherwise he would damage party chances of coming to power.
So finally, after dithering on the decision, the party caved in to his demand and gave the party ticket to Aryaendra Sharma and Manish Tewari. Already another close of relative of Tewari, Navparbhat, a former Uttarakhand minister, had been given the party ticket from Vikasnagar seat in Dehradun district.
After the Congress announced the ticket of his favourites, Tewari wrote to party president Sonia Gandhi, expressing his allegiance with the Congress ideology since childhood and his faith in the Nehru-Gandhi family.


10 BJP supporters killed in accident 
Pithoragarh, January 9
Ten BJP supporters of party candidate from Didhat Bishen Singh Chufal, who along with the later were on their way to file nomination papers, were killed while one was injured seriously when a boulder fell on their vehicle at Rangaun today. They were on their way to Kanalichina.
“ITBP, the Army and the police rescue teams have been deputed at the accident spot. Three bodies have been retrieved from under the debris, which fell on the jeep. The search for other passengers is on,” said Pithoragarh District Magistrate R Rajesh Kumar.
According to the information, the supporters of Chufal, who belonged to the Kanalichina area, most of the part of which has been included in the Didihat Assembly seat after the reorganisation of the Assembly seat, were going to Didihat to witness the nomination filing process of their leader.
As the jeep reached Rangaun, an entire portion of a hilltop from the left side suddenly fell on the jeep, killing three passengers on the spot. “The lone injured woman, Manju, has been referred to a Pithoragarh hospital by the rescue team and is being treated there,” said the DM.
According to district administration sources, the rescue team is facing difficulties due to bad weather conditions and lack of equipment with them.

India must fully tap investment potential of NRIs, PIOs: Pranab

JAIPUR: Citing example of China, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that India too needs to fully tap the investment potential of NRIs and their entrepreneurial skills and promote inclusive growth. 

"We have not yet reaped the full benefits of India's great diaspora. The most obvious area remains that of investment and entrepreneurship. For instance, in China a large chunk of foreign direct investment has come from overseas Chinese," he said, while addressing the 10thPravasi Bhartiya Divas in Jaipur. 

Though there have been "large ticket investments" by NRIs and PIOs, he said, "it is far less than the potential and perhaps too concentrated on the formal sector. Rather, we must pursue an alternative model. One that is more balanced and holistic in a socio-economic sense". 

Overseas Indians, he said, should increase their contribution in social and economic areas like education, healthcare, and skill development and supplement the efforts of the government to promote inclusive growth. Mukherjee made these remarks while addressing a gathering of about 1,900 Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). 

The non-resident Chinese have been playing a major role in the development of China and invest substantial in the domestic economy. 

Indian government, Mukherjee said, has been trying to improve the access of the poor and the vulnerable to vital public services by creating entitlements backed by limited legal guarantees which include the right to information, the right to work in rural areas and the right to education. 

Efforts, he added, were made to put in place right to food law which would ensure subsidised foodgrain for the poor population. 

Mukherjee said India does not require just financial contributions from its diaspora, but dedication of time, ideas and endeavour. 

On the economy, he said that though the year 2011 has been "an eventful one", India's achievements over the last few years have been commendable. 

"Though we have witnessed ups and downs, this period has transformed our country and catapulted it into the centre stage in the world...We are widely recognised as a major driver of global growth," he said. India is a member of the G20 and, within the G20, it is considered a part of the systemically most important 7. On the issue of brain drain, the Finance Minister said "the movement of the diaspora is no longer unidirectional as it was in the past. What started as a brain drain, has now become a brain gain, not just for India but the world as a whole". 

Today mobile Indian professionals and entrepreneurs, Mukherjee said are contributing across the global economy and enhancing its resilience in these troubled times. 

"Many have also returned to the home turf and are engaged in its socio-economic fabric. Still others have set up enterprises or professional relations that span national boundaries," he added. The entrepreneurial skills of the Indian business community settled abroad are a matter of envy for other nations, he said. 

Foreign firms are increasingly aware of the sharp business acumen of the Indian entrepreneur and managers. "They have come to respect our business houses and practices," Mukherjee said.

NRIs will get right to vote in Indian elections, promises Manmohan Singh

JAIPUR: Fulfilling a long-standing demand of its diaspora, India on Sunday said it would allowNRIs to vote and participate in the election process. 

"Pursuant to the law that was enacted to enable Non-resident Indians to vote in our national elections, the government has issued notifications for registration of overseas electors under the Representation of People Act, 1950," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. 

"This constitutes the first major step to enable Indian residents abroad to participate in our election process," the prime minister said while addressing the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divasdiaspora meet here. 

He said the diaspora plays an important role in the growth and development of the country. The government recognises it, and was committed to address their concerns and fulfil their demands. 

"The government and people of India recognise and value the important role being played by Indian communities living abroad. We believe that Indian diaspora has much more to contribute to the building of modern India," the prime minister said. 

"We propose to facilitate, encourage and promote this engagement. Over the past year, we have taken a number of steps towards this end," he added, as he formally inaugurated the 10th annual diaspora meet, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here. 

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said NRIs would be able to exercise their franchise in upcoming elections. 

"Indian nationals living abroad can now exercise their franchise in India at the time o f the elections," Ravi said. 

Now those NRIs who have registered with the embassies of their respective countries of stay, would be eligible to vote in the upcoming assembly elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. Polls will take place in these countries between Jan 28 and March 3. 

Ravi said objective of the government was to further increase engagements with diaspora. "Our objective is to raise the level of engagement to go beyond mere investment related issues and address a broader agenda." 

"We believe that this will provide the vast majority of you the opportunity to benefit from as well as contribute - each in your own way - to India's development story," the minister said. 

Later talking to media person, Ravi said this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is the largest congregation of Indian diaspora. 

He said almost 1,900 delegates from around 60 countries were participating in the three-day event. 

Congress ready with 65 names for Uttarakhand polls

The allocation of 65 out of 70 nominations for the Uttarakhand Assembly polls by the Congress on Thursday night seems to have given it an edge over the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which witnessed a near revolt after the announcement of 48 nominations on Tuesday.

Alive to the BJP's experience, the Congress has nominated just two outsiders — Rajender Bhandari, former Minister for Panchayati Raj in the BJP government, from Badrinath, and Quazi Nizammudin, a former BSP MLA from Manglore in Haridwar district.

All but one sitting MLA have been fielded again. State Congress president Yashpal Arya will contest from Bajpur, Leader of the Opposition Harak Singh Rawat from Rudraprayag, Pritam Singh from Chakrata, Dinesh Aggarwal from Dharampur, Amrita Rawat from Ramnagar and Tilakraj Behad from Rudrapur. Indira Hirdyesh, second in-command in the N.D. Tiwari Cabinet, will contest from Haldwani. Satpal Brahmachari has been fielded from Haridwar.

Surendra Singh Negi will compete against Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri in Kotdwar.

The party is likely to accommodate one or two nominees of the former Chief Minister, N.D. Tiwari, in the five constituencies where nominated are yet to be announced, sources said. These seats are Dehra Dun Cantonment, Sahaspur and Doiwala in Dehra Dun, and Rudrapur and Kichcha in Udham Singh Nagar.

Detailed Profile: Shri Satpal Maharaj

 

Name	Shri Satpal Maharaj
Constituency from which I am elected	Garhwal
Father's Name	Late Shri Hansji Maharaj
Mother's Name	Late Smt.Rajeshwari Devi
Date of Birth	21 Sep 1951
Birth Place	Kankhal, Distt. Haridwar (Uttar Pradesh)
Maritial Status	Married
Date of Marriage	08 Feb 1981
Spouse Name	Smt. Amrita Rawat
No. of Children	No.of Sons:2   No.of Daughters:0
State Name	Uttarakhand
Party Name	Indian National Congress
Permanent Address	13, Municipal Road,Dehradun, UttarakhandTel.             (0135) 2652414      , 2714546
Present Address	28, Mahadev Road,New Delhi - 110 001Tels.             (011) 23326623      , 9013180355 (M) Fax. (011) 23326624
Email id	(i) rajhans1[at]sancharnet[dot]in (ii) eureka[at]del3[dot]vsnl[dot]net[dot]in
Educational Qualifications	Senior Cambridge Educated at St. George`s College, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand
Profession
Positions Held
March 1991-Sept. 199	Member, Executive Committee, P.C.C.(I),Uttar Pradesh
Jan. 1992-1994	Member, Rashtriya Rahat and Sadhbhawana Samiti (National Relief and Goodwill Committee)
March 1992-Oct. 1994	Member, A.I.C.C.(I)
Mar. 1993-Oct. 1994	Member, Rajya Ekikaran Parishad, UP (State Integration Council)
Feb. 1994-Feb. 1995	Convener, Mahatma Gandhi 125th Anniversary Celebration Committee, Uttar Pradesh
Apr. 1994-Mar. 1996	Patron, Uttarakhand Sanyukata Sangharsh Samiti
Oct. 1995-Dec. 1995	Vice-President, All India Indira Congress Committee (Tiwari), Uttar Pradesh
Jan. 1996-Dec. 1996	President, Indira Congress (Tiwari), Uttarakhand
1996	Elected to 11th Lok Sabha
July 1996-June 97	Union Minister of State, Railways
June 1997-Mar. 1998	Union Minister of State, Finance
1997-1998	Member, Implementation Committee for Commemoration of 50th Anniversary of India`s Independence
2000 onwards	Member, AICC, Uttarakhand
Aug. 2001	President, Human Rights Department, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee
Feb.8, 2002-2004	Secretary, All India Congress Committee
Feb. 2003-Mar. 2007	Vice-Chairman, 20-Point Programme Implementation Dept. Govt. of Uttarakhand (Cabinet Rank)
Apr. 2008	AICC Co-ordinator to Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
2009	Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (2nd term)
31 Aug. 2009	Chairman, Standing Committee on Defence
16 Sep. 2009	Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Railways
19 Oct. 2010	Member, General Purposes Committee
5 May 2010	Member, Committee on Public Accounts
Social and Cultural Activities	Played an outstanding role in the formation of Uttarakhand State; one of the patrons of Uttarakhand Sanyunkta Sangharsh Samiti; notable contribution in protecting and preserving the ancient cultural heritage and in providing assistance to students, sportspersons and women; relief to the victims of natural calamities-floods, earthquakes, droughts and hailstorms etc. in various parts of the country; propagated national unity, integrity and religious harmony by organising conferences all over the country; organised Sadhbhawana padyatra in Gujrat post-Godhra riots, November 2002; organised several padyatras from Badrinath to Delhi, Siliguri to Gangtok and Gaya to Patna to interact and promote patriotism and spread the message of secular ideals; convened several hundred Sadhbhawana Sammelans in the last 25 years in various parts of the country to disseminate the feeling of goodwill and tolerance amongst different religious communities; organised and understood Gandhi yatra on the 125th Birth Anniversary Celebration as convenor; and was honoured by the President of Nepal, Shri Ram Baran Yadav in Ocotober for convening Pashupati Sangeet Mahotsav
Special Interests	Extending the latest computer technology, desk top printing and latest scientific advancements to the masses and eradication of superstitions, untouchability and other social evils; and comparative study of religions, cultures and history
Sports and Clubs	Badminton; member of Constitution Club of India
Favourite Pastimes and Recreation	Keeping abreast current affairs, international events, latest scientific developments, technology and its applications and travelling, meeting and interacting with varied groups of people
Countries Visited	Widely travelled

Source:http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=3717