12 workers of Rockman, Satyam go on fast

Dehradun, April 23
Twelve workers of Rockman and Satyam companies launched an indefinite fast at the Parade Ground here today.
Addressing a press conference, Amit Kumar, a leader of an employees' union, said they were disappointed with the response of Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Bahuguna whom they met yesterday.
"When we informed the Chief Minister about a meagre salary we are getting (Rs 5,000), he replied that none of the worker in the SIDCUL area was getting this much salary. He asked us not to spoil the atmosphere of the capital city and the SIDCUL," he said.
Amit Kumar further said if the administration failed to decide on their main demand of the reinstatement of suspended and dismissed workers in two days, they would again hold a march to the Secretariat, where they would stage a dharna and would not lift it till they get final answer on their demands.
He said the Additional Secretary, Labour Department, had also given them an assurance to discuss the matter with both managements of the companies.

More properties in four cities under tax net soon

Dehradun, April 23
To check property tax evasion, the Department of Urban Development will soon introduce Geographic Information System (GIS) property mapping (scale 1:100) in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Haldwani.
With more than 50 per cent of the properties outside the tax ambit in most of the towns, the GIS mapping is expected to create a data base, increase tax collection and attain the objective of the Property Tax Management.
"As part of the pilot project, GIS mapping was undertaken in Salawala near Dehradun which revealed that more than 60 per cent of the property was not recorded. We found a huge gap when we compared the data of the survey work with our present records. The GIS mapping will not only enable the Urban Local Bodies Department to determine the number of properties in their jurisdiction, but also bring several properties under the tax net," said Radhika Jha, Project Director, Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development and Investment Programme (UUSDIP).
The exercise will help in streamlining the property tax assessment and collection system in the selected cities and in the long run it will help in increasing the revenue of the Local Bodies Department.
For undertaking a field-level survey and digitising the data of all properties in four towns of Uttarakhand, the funds will be provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The agency (for field work) will be selected through the bid system for which a request for the proposal has already been prepared. A laboratory will also be set up for imparting training to employees of the Urban Local Bodies Department. "Increasing urbanisation is inevitable and overcrowding of cities is a great challenge for sanitation, disaster management, etc. GIS and remote sensing prove useful for preparing maps, digitising spatial data," said MH Khan, officiating Deputy Programme Manager, Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development and Investment Programme.
The data collected by digital mapping from the National Remote Sensing Centre, an important segment of ISRO, will be used for the implementation of the system.

Sulphur spring brings Haldwari in limelight

Dehradun, April 23
Haldwari village, which is also famous for a natural sulphur spring, could be converted into a tourist destination. It is about 40 km from Dehradun.
The local residents are hopeful that with the concept of rural tourism gaining popularity worldwide, the village having sulphur-rich water spring could be developed into a tourist spot. It will play a key role in the development of this remote village.
Haldwari is accessible by a 2.5 km trek from Ragad village, the last road head. It is 18 kilometre from Maldevta.
The village is known for the sulphur spring, where the local people come to take bath, especially during weekends.
"People from nearby villages and tourists from Dehradun take bath in the sulphur spring in our village. It is believed that sulphur bath is beneficial in a number of aliments, including skin diseases," said Dinesh Singh, a local resident.
In the past, Haldwari was one of the hot spots for mining of limestone. Truck used to move up to the village, but the ban on quarrying in the Doon valley in the late 80s gave a major setback to the road connectivity.
"The companies involved in mining used to maintain the road. Even after the ban of quarrying, the roads were in good shape but after heavy rainfall in 2007, many bridges were washed away. Since 2007, we are struggling and have approached the state government many times for connecting the village with all-weather road. But, nobody is paying any heed to our request," complained Balwant Panwar.
The temporary road connecting Ragad is bumpy and only jeeps and cars move on the Kucha road. At present, two jeeps ferry passengers from Raipur to Ragad and vice versa.
Nature lover Sudhanshu Negi, who is a regular visitor to Ragad, said, "The August 23, 2011 cloudburst in Karligad village had an adverse affect on the sulphur springs in Sahastradhara (Dehradun). Now the sulphur water level in Sahastradhara is low. Compared to it, the flow of sulphur water is very high at Haldwari. It is located near Dehradun and can be developed into a picnic spot."
The free-flowing Song river is another attraction in the village. The houses are located in isolated places and Haldwari is home to 40 families. Most of the villages located in and around Haldwari remain cut off from rest of the world in monsoon due to washing away of the road. 

Tusker found dead

Haridwar, April 23
In a shocking incident, a female elephant succumbed to injuries that she had sustained during fighting with a fellow tusker elephant.
This incident occurred at the Dhaulkhand range of the Rajaji National Park here yesterday evening, which is a protected habitat for Asian elephants.
The female elephant was found dead by a park patrolling team with injuries on the whole body indicating the gruesome fight that had taken place between the two elephants. Post-mortem of the female elephant was carried out today by a panel of wild life doctors.
Dhaulkhand range employees said for the past few days, a movement of the female elephant was being noticed in this region and conflict would have taken place for at least an hour as per the indications of the injuries.

3 kidnapping cases shock US Nagar people

Nainital, April 23
A sense of insecurity prevails in Udham Singh Nagar district following three incidents of kidnapping and abduction being reported from different areas in the past two days.
A three-year-old was abducted by some miscreants from the Bhurarani area of Rudrapur yesterday.
Suraj was playing with his sister, Kajal, outside their house when two motorcycle-borne youths came and abducted the boy. On hearing the noise raised by Kajal, a cyclist tried to chase the motorcycle but his efforts proved futile. Further investigations are on in the matter.
On Saturday evening, a beauty parlour employee was kidnapped from Bazpur. The victim was a class XII student who was allegedly kidnapped by some car-borne persons from the Transit Camp area. The girl, identified as Phulwati, was a resident of Krishna Colony and had gone out on Saturday night when a car stopped and some persons forcibly put her inside and fled the spot. The alarm raised by her brought a few people to the spot but by then the car had driven off.
The police attempts at rescuing her by putting up barricades on various routes proved futile.
The father of the victim, Beni Ram, had accused a youth of his locality of being involved in the crime but a raid at the latter’s place also proved futile.
According to sources, the police has information about the car heading towards Ghaziabad and efforts are on to trace the whereabouts of the accused and rescue the girl.
On Saturday evening, 16-year-old Mobin Jahan was allegedly kidnapped while she was returning home in Bazpur village after her duty at a beauty parlour. Her bicycle, purse and slippers were found in a wheat field.

Uttarakhand Congress expels 35 workers, notice to 100 others

Dehra Dun, Apr 23 - Infighting in the ruling Congress in Uttarakhand today intensified with the party expelling 35 workers and serving show-cause notices to 100 others, including the son of Union Minister Harish Rawat and Alomra MP Pradeep Tamta. The State Disciplinary Committee at its meeting held here expelled the 35 members from the party for six years for indiscipline and anti-party activities and issued notices to 100 others, including Rawat's son Anand Singh Rawat, Committee president Narendra Singh Bhandari said. The party workers, who were given notice, had been asked to furnish their reply within 15 days. Infighting had surfaced in the party after Vijay Bahuguna was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state after the Assembly elections. Harish Rawat, who was also a contender for the chief ministership, and his supporters had raised a banner of revolt protesting Bahuguna's choice for the post.

Feud continues to divide Uttarakhand Congress

Dehradun, April 20 - There is no end to the factional feud in Uttarakhand Congress. The latest spat between two arch rivals Satpal Maharaj, Pauri Garhwal MP and Harish Rawat, Union Minister of Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs, has erupted on the issue of efforts by the Congress to look for a “safe” Assembly segment for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

Vijaya Bahuguna, Congress MP from Tehri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat who was appointed by the party high command as Chief Minister last month after a fragile victory in the state Assembly polls has to enter the state Assembly within six months. Since the Congress has only one seat more than the opposition BJP in the state Assembly, efforts were made by the Congress managers to persuade an opposition BJP legislator to vacate his seat in favour of the Chief Minister.

However, Harish Rawat, who has been unhappy for not being offered the post of the Chief Minister, has thrown a spanner in the works. In a statement, he said the decision to engineer a “defection” amongst opposition BJP would be morally wrong and could trigger unrest in the state with the Opposition hitting the streets.

Most of the Congress leaders view his statement as an attempt to add to the problems of the already beleaguered Chief Minister Bahuguna. Harish Rawat had raised a banner of revolt against the decision of the party high command to choose Bahuguna as Chief Minister. He, along with his supporter legislators, sat on a dharna at his New Delhi residence against the decision of the party high command for a fortnight. To placate Harish Rawat, his supporters were adjusted in the Bahuguna Cabinet.

One of his loyalists Mahendra Singh Mahra, who recently lost Assembly polls, was given a Rajya Sabha seat while another of his supporters, Govind Singh Kunjwal, was made the Assembly Speaker. But it did not bury their differences and the fresh salvo by Harish Rawat has annoyed Bahuguna supporters.

Satpal Maharaj, Pauri Garhwal, Congress MP who had earlier criticised Harish Rawat for allegedly blackmailing the party high command, in a statement here today said that if any of the Opposition legislators offers his or her seat for the Chief Minister Bahuguna, it would be welcome.

He reminded Rawat that the tradition of getting an Opposition legislator to vacate a seat for the Chief Minister was started by the Opposition BJP when Lt Gen TPS Rawat (retd), a Congress legislator, resigned from the party and vacated his Assembly segment for the then Chief Minister Maj Gen BC Khanduri (retd) in 2007.

Meanwhile, Dhirendra Pratap, Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson, also accused Harish Rawat of teaching ethics to party leaders when he himself indulged in rebellion.

The party leaders are also divided on the issue of having a new Uttarakhand Congress Chief. Yashpal Arya, the present Uttarakhand Congress President, has been inducted in the Bahuguna cabinet and Harish Rawat has started pressurising the party high command to appoint Pardeep Tamta, Congress MP from Almora or Mayukh Singh Mahar, Congress legislator from Pithoragarh, as state Congress chief.