Haritima, first organic restaurant of India, opens at Tera Gaon

 

Mussoorie, June 8
The efforts of Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board (UOCB) to make organic food popular among the connoisseurs of taste have finally yielded results in the state with the opening of Haritima, the first organic certified restaurant in the country, at Tera Gaon, Shastra Dhara, near Dehradun.

Haritima, the brand identity for the organic food, conceptualised by UOCB after the research of more than a decade, ably supported by Dev Rishi Educational Society, Tera Gaon, Renaissance Hotel Management Institute, and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani on World Environment Day.

The Agriculture Minister, speaking on the occasion, said that it was indeed a historic day for the state and commended the efforts of all the organisations involved in it. The minister further said that the government was also planning to open such green restaurants in other towns of the state where the traditional cuisine would be served using organic produce. More than 45,000 organic farmers would benefit from this project, added Agriculture Minister Mantra Prasad Naithani.

The UOCB programme manager Binita Shah, speaking to The Tribune, said that presently the restaurant would be serving local items, namely roasted pumpkin and corn soup, three bean salad and Navrangi salad.

In snacks the local dishes such as badeel, tofu kebab, pahari chilla and mandua kathi roll will be served. In the main course bugyali kofta curry, hariyali tofu, bhang methi, gahat ka paratha, buckwheat chilla, and tofu paratha accompanied with walnut chutney, apricot chutney, pyaaz ki chutney and til ki chutney are being served. In bakery items breads, fruitcakes, finger millet and Amaranth cookies, finger millet, fruit cakes and buckwheat breads are available at the restaurant. She further said that for beverages buraansh (rhododendron) margarita, mango shake with hemp milk, apple mojito and kafal (berry) kamikaze will be served. Binita Shah said that with the increase in the popularity, more items prepared from the organic produce will be included in the culinary, for which they have entered into arrangements with the farmers directly so that there is no shortage of raw material at any cost.

The food lovers would thoroughly enjoy the taste of desserts prepared from jhangora barn yard, millet ki kheer, himkhand and bread in finger millet sauce, added Shah.

Elaborating further, she said that the whole objective of opening such restaurant was to introduce highly nutritional varieties of organic food in a way that is more palatable and promoting the traditional food items of the state. Binita Shah further said that the business community involved in hospitality industry should come forward in incorporating this business model, aptly named Haritima, so that more than 45,000 farmers involved in organic farming are kept motivated, thus re-kindling the interest towards traditional farming in them and also assisting in curbing the migration from the hills, added Binita Shah. The technical manager, Amit Srivasatava, said that they were also planning to open one such restaurant in Mussoorie so that the tourists from around the world can savour the taste of the traditional food items prepared using organic methods.

Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly passes 3 Bills amid pandemonium

Dehradun, June 8
Amidst sloganeering and pandemonium, the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly on Friday passed the Uttarakhand Appropriation Bill ( 2012) , the Uttarakhand Value Added Tax (Amendment)Bill, 2012, and the Land Reform Act Amendment Bill (2012) just before it adjourned sine die.
As soon as the House convened after the lunch session, the unrest over the Cabinet decision to give approval to four universities today spilled into the Uttarakhand Assembly as the House witnessed acrimonious scenes with the Leader of the Opposition, Ajay Bhatt, demanding discussion on the issue under rule 310 (adjournment motion), even as the financial matters were being discussed.
The Leader of the Opposition even appealed to the treasury benches to join the BJP in taking up the issue as it affected the future of a large number of students.
"We want the government to inform the House and discuss the issue of approving private status of four universities threadbare. The private universities should not be allowed to mushroom in the state. Few members from the treasury benches had expressed their apprehensions and I know they are with us on this issue. Who knows, the government may even bring an ordinance in the coming days, while keeping the House in the dark," said Ajay Bhatt, while urging the Speaker to suspend the financial matter and instead allow the adjournment.
But Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal did not relent; instead he pointed out the provisions laid down in the rule book (for conduct of House) that disallowed Cabinet decisions to be discussed on the the floor of the House.
"The Cabinet making is too secretive and cannot be taken up in the House, even as the House is already engaged in discussing financial matters," said Kunjwal.
Soon the Opposition benches stormed the well of the House and started raising slogans. At this juncture, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hriyadesh then got up to retable the Uttarakhand Appropriation Bill. Thereafter, all the three Bills were passed without any discussion on the last day of the budget session.

The Bills

• Uttarakhand Appropriation Bill ( 2012)
• Uttarakhand Value Added Tax (Amendment)Bill, 2012
• Land Reform Act Amendment Bill (2012)

All in one day: Weather shows many moods in Haridwar

Two girls cover their faces to save themselves from dusty winds that hit Haridwar city. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Haridwar, June 8
The city witnessed various moods of the weather - scorching sun, dusty winds, light drizzle and cloudy sky yesterday.

Early in the morning, a cool breeze greeted the residents but by noon, the temperature went up to 44°C, making it difficult for residents to venture out.

Then, late in the afternoon, dusty winds lashed the city uprooting many trees. Roads could be seen littered with branches, twigs and leaves.

The hoardings and tents - uprooted by the wind - hindered the flow of traffic at many places.

In the evening, a light drizzle in some parts of the city brought respite to the residents.

As soon as the weather became pleasant, local residents, pilgrims and tourists came out in a large number on the Ganga ghats and the Ganga canal walking stretch to enjoy the weather conditions.

Shikha Rawat, a student, said that she was surprised that the dusty wind, at the start of her banking coaching classes at Ranipur, had been replaced by a light drizzle by the time her classes ended.

Centre raises kerosene quota for state

Dehradun, June 8
The Centre has increased the quota of kerosene for the state. According to sources, an increase of 1,500 kl per quarter has been done for the state.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had recently met Union Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy and informed him about the kerosene need of the state.

The Chief Minister has expressed gratitude to the minister.

Bahuguna said he was hopeful that the Centre would continue to cooperate with Uttarakhand in other matters as well.

Bahuguna assures revision of minimum wages for workers

Dehradun, June 8
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today assured the House that a committee would be constituted for carrying out revision of minimum wages for workers working in industrial areas and these wages would be higher than all the states.

Intervening during question hour, Labour Minister Harish Chander Durgapal failed to satisfy the BJP MLA, Surinder Jeena, who wanted to know if the minimum wages being offered in Uttarakhand were set for revision.

The member was also told that the payment to daily wagers working in Transit Hostel , Secretariat and Assembly would be paid through cheques.

The Minister for Urban Development, Pritam Singh Panwar, today accepted the suggestion made by former Speaker and BJP MLA Harbans Kapoor that a process should be initiated whereby the cow dung is collected from dairies on the pattern of door-to-door collection of household garbage under way in the state. The member said such a provision would prevent the choking of drains as almost all the cow dung is thrown in the drains.

The minister said the Urban Development Department is working at a plan to shift some of the dairies to less congested places. "The plan that was chalked out in 2010 under maha yojana could not be implemented as the selection of land in Chakrata and Jogiwala proved problematic. Most of the dairies that are functioning in the city are being asked to keep these neat and clean. As there is no objection from the people, as long as these dairies were kept clean, there was no immediate plan to move them,” informed the minister. 

Documentary on Mussoorie released by singer

Mussoorie, June 8
A bilingual documentary titled 'I Am Mussoorie' dedicated to tourists was released by eminent singer from the state, Meena Rana, at a simple function in Mussoorie today.

The documentary directed and produced by Pradeep Bhandari is in both Hindi and English and has been conceptualised in order to promote the lesser-known tourist destinations around Mussoorie that are still far away from the reach of the tourists.

The documentary begins with the history of the town and highlights the important tourist destinations such as Jharipani, Mossy and Bhatta Falls with prominence.

The chief guest on the occasion, Meena Rana, addressing the gathering said that the documentary film on Mussoorie was need of the hour for the tourists as now they will have no difficulty in locating the tourist places around Mussoorie. She further said that the documentary will prove to be a milestone in promoting tourism here.

The director-producer of the film, Pradeep Bhandari, informed the gathering that the tourists visiting Mussoorie are not provided with sufficient information about the main spots around the town; so it was decided to make this documentary CD, which will not only act as a guide book for them but also help in promoting tourism.

“Through this documentary the tourists will receive not only information about the important places but also the glorious history of the town," added Bhandari.

Sanjay Kumola and Meena Rana have provided the voice in the film, while Ajay Solanki and Pooja Nirankari have lent their artistic assistance to the film.

Separate vending zone planned in Haridwar

Haridwar, June 8
After facing problems in managing regular festive baths, fairs, Kanwar mela and Maha Kumbh-Ardh along with problems of congested roads and encroachments by vendors-hawkers, finally the administration has started the process for a separate vending zone in Haridwar.

A high-level team comprising district administration and Municipal Corporation have been formed under City Magistrate JS Nagiyal in this regard, which will submit it's final report in the coming days to the District Magistrate.

A survey is being done in the city to earmark the place for vending zones as well as marking places as 'no-vending zone.' Under directions from District Magistrate Sachin Kurwe, an administrative team is doing a field survey of various markets and empty places for this purpose.

Initially, for vending zone the Municipal Corporation has marked 14 such places while eight zones have been understood to be made no-vending zones.

Aiding this team are Circle Officer, Traffic, JR Joshi, Assistant Town Officer PS Rawat, Tax Inspector Mahendra Yadav, who are surveying the core mela zone area.

Till date they have surveyed railway station, bus station, Shiv Moorti Chowk, Laltaura Pull, Chandighat Chowk, Bhoomanand Chowk, Upper Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Har-ki-Pauri and Bhimgoda areas.

The team is taking inputs from street vendors with Uttarakhand chief of small scale street vendors-hawkers Sanjay Chopra, apprising the survey team of their suggestions and problems.

As per CO, Traffic, JR Joshi, the city needs to have specific vending zones as otherwise a majority of the streets in the core mela zone area leading towards Har-ki-Pauri are full of vendors, of which a majority are unauthorised, which poses problems for commuting and traffic jams.