IEP Dehradun September 28

Uttarakhand Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today met the Union Tourism and Culture minister G Kishan Reddy in the national Capital and requested administrative and financial approvals for various proposals sent under the Mini Prasad Yojana and Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme.

He sought the approvals for seven proposals under the first phase of Mini Prasad Yojana and for proposals under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 related to Adi Kailash, Gunji, Dattu and Munsyari in Pithoragarh district, Champawat and Chukha in Champawat district, Jadong in Uttarkashi district and Kanvashram in Pauri district. Dhami said that the State government is working to develop Uttarakhand as a tourism State. Secretaries R Meenakshi Sundaram and Sachin Kurve were also present in the meeting.

IEP Dehradun September 28

The OMR sheets of the Uttarakhand police sub-inspector recruitment conducted in Pantnagar university in 2015 have allegedly been destroyed. The Vigilance department has said that they are investigating the matter and action will be taken against illegal destruction of any OMR sheet. The department started the probe into the matter after the investigation of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) paper leak case by the Special Task Force (STF) led to the discovery of irregularities in several other recruitments including the Uttarakhand police SI recruitment test in 2015.Talking about the progress of the case, the director of the State Vigilance department Amit Sinha said that the department conducted a preliminary investigation in the SI recruitment case as soon as it was handed over to them by the State administration.

“The department has submitted an investigation report to the high-level committee set up by the State administration. We will register a case against the guilty party as per the verdict of the committee which will be out soon,” added Sinha.

The authorities were also suspecting tampering with the OMR sheets of some candidates of police SI recruitment but the sheets were allegedly destroyed after the exam making it difficult to get more information about the candidates who cleared the recruitment through cheating. Since the case is more than seven years old, the authorities are also purportedly facing difficulties in gathering digital and electronic evidence like call detail records among others which had turned out to be a game changer for STF in investigating the UKSSSC paper leak case. Talking about the issue, the Vigilance director said, “I would not comment much on the issue since it is part of an ongoing investigation but the department is currently investigating the matter of OMR sheets being allegedly destroyed illegally. We will soon register the case against the culprits and will make arrests after gathering enough evidence. Rest assured that action will be taken against everybody involved in this recruitment fraud.

IEP Dehradun September 28

The revenue sub-inspector (Patwari) whose role in allegedly delaying action in the Ankita Bhandari murder case is being questioned was suspended with immediate effect. Pauri district magistrate Vijay Jogdande suspended the Patwari Vaibhav Pratap Singh of Udaipur Palla-II in Yamkeshwar Tehsil based on the inquiry report of the Yamkeshwar sub divisional magistrate on Tuesday. Prior to this the district magistrate had suspended Patwari Vivek Kumar for negligence on duty and not lodging the first information report of Virendra Bhandari, the father of Ankita Bhandari. Jogdande said that taking cognisance of the complaints from different mediums against Patwari Vaibhav Pratap Singh in connection with the Ankita Bhandari case in revenue village of Ganga Bhogpur in Yamkeshwar Tehsil, the Yamkeshwar SDM had been directed to submit his inquiry report on Singh. According to the inquiry report, Singh had received information about Ankita missing on September 19. However, he did not inform his superiors about the case and also failed to take any further action in the case. After suspending Singh , the district magistrate has deputed the Lansdowne SDM to conduct a detailed inquiry against him while attaching the suspended Patwari to Thalisain Tehsil. Jogdange has also reiterated that misinformation is being spread on some media outlets and social media regarding the demolition of the Vanantara resort where Ankita used to work under the resort owner and main accused Pulkit Arya. He said that portions of the resort which were illegally constructed were demolished after collection of necessary evidence and checking of documents.

IEP Dehradun September 28

Several development works worth Rs 1,750 crore will be carried out in the Dehradun district under the Development of Best in Class Transport (road and public transport) Infrastructure project. The officials from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) who will be funding this project in two phases met the Dehradun district magistrate Sonika on Tuesday along with other officials concerned to hold discussion on the development works. The officials informed that a total of 61.1 kilometre of roads across the district including Chakrata Road, Shimla Bypass – Premnagar, Haridwar bypass, Haridwar Road, Ring Road, Raipur Road, Krishali Chowk – Sai Mandir, Mussoorie Road, Rajpur Road, Saharanpur Road and Mall Road in Mussoorie besides smart road and footpath will be constructed under the project. Apart from this, construction of multi utility duct bank, sewer line, water supply, storm water drainage, smart street lighting system, street furniture, multi level car parking and other related development works will be done across the district. The operation of 100 new electric buses will also be started under this project. The officials informed that this project is worth about Rs 1,750 crore which will be funded by ADB and AIIB in two phases. The officials of ADB discussed the project in detail with DM Sonika and senior officials of Dehradun Smart City Limited (DSCL) and Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation in the meeting.

IEP Dehradun September 28 

The Shankaracharya of Sringeri Sharada Peeth, Swami Bharati Teertha today conducted the Abhishek of Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and Dwarka Sharada Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Sadanand Saraswati.The ritual was conducted amidst Vedic chants in the temple of goddess Sharadamba, the presiding deity of the Sringeri Peeth. Before the ritual, the seer blessed the two new Shankaracharyas and announced in Sanskrit that he was conducting the Abhishek of the successors of the departed Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya with Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati being the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth and Sadanand Saraswati being the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth.It is pertinent to mention here that the recently deceased Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati had introduced the two as his successors in front of the Sringeri Peeth Shankaracharya at an event held in Bengaluru during 2007. The Abhishek of the two new Shankaracharyas was conducted on the first day of Navratri.

IEP Dehradun September 28

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has awarded Uttarakhand first prize in two categories, for the best adventure tourism destination and all-around development of tourism.

The State’s Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaj received the awards from Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar during the presentation of National Tourism Awards 2018-19 in New Delhi. Maharaj congratulated the people of Uttarakhand and stakeholders in the tourism industry. Invited domestic and international tourists to visit Uttarakhand, he said that Himalaya Darshan by helicopter has been launched recently in Mussoorie.

The minister said “The Tourism department is working on multiple projects to attract tourists to Uttarakhand. Both the awards received by Uttarakhand prove that the popularity of the state is increasing consistently among the tourists. Himalaya Darshan service will further increase the inflow of tourists in the State, who will be able to enjoy the high peaks of the Himalayas and the natural beauty of Uttarakhand from a helicopter.”

He further informed, “Uttarakhand Tourism has also launched an attractive scheme for travel influencers across the country, under which the influencers making videos, in any language will be empanelled with the Tourism department. Once empanelled, they will be invited to introductory tours to different places in Uttarakhand, which will be sponsored by the State government. Folk arts, rural culture, adventurous geo-ecology, homestays, unique spiritual experiences and nutritious cuisine will be showcased through these curated tours,” he said. Among the many programmes being organised to encourage winter tourism, the major events include Trek of the Year – Pindari Glacier in Bageshwar district from October 1 to November 15 and the Bagchi Bugyal trek in Chamoli district from December 1 to January 15, Winterline Carnival in Mussoorie and Nainital during December, rafting championship in Champawat from December 2022 to January 2023, national skiing championship at Auli in February 2023 and International Yoga Festival to be held in Rishikesh in March 2023, added the minister. Meanwhile, to encourage tourism a photography and videography contest was also launched on the occasion of World Tourism Day. Interested participants are invited to participate online. Winners will be selected in five categories with the total prize money being Rs 25 lakh.

IEP DEHRADUN

The murder of Ankita Bhandari by a resort owner in Gangabhogpur area of Yamkeshwar in Pauri district has renewed the long standing demand for abolition of the old system of revenue police in Uttarakhand. In more than 60 per cent of the territory of the State the revenue Patwaris are also given police powers. Vidhan Sabha speaker Ritu Khanduri sent a letter to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in which she requested that the system of revenue police should be abolished with immediate effect and police posts and stations should be set up in place of revenue police posts.

“ VS speaker writes letter to CM on the subject ” She said that the old practice of revenue police is still prevalent in many areas of the State. Khanduri said that in Ankita Bhandari could have lived had the normal police been functioning and the general public would not have been so much agitated as they are today.

She said that in today’s time when victim can file zero FIR from any part of the country and register his or her complaint one is pained to observe that revenue police personnel which lack modern arms and no training to deal with criminals are operating in an area which is only 15 kilometres away from the Rishikesh city.

Khanduri requested that police stations and posts should be set up in the areas which are under the jurisdiction of the revenue police so that the repetition of such incidents is prevented.

IEP DEHRADUN

Following allegations being leveled by some media outlets and citizens on social media about the government conspiring to destroy evidence of Ankita Bhandari’s murder by demolishing the resort she was working in, the police have clarified that the necessary evidence has already been collected. DGP  Ashok Kumar said that the police have already collected necessary evidence from the resort. “We have the evidence we need. The demolition of the resort resulting in destruction of evidence is very unlikely,” he said. The police have clarified that they had already collected all forensic and electronic evidence from the resort before its demolition was started. Noted advocate Atul Pundir said that the collection of evidence depends on the origin of offence. “From what is known so far, the crime occurred near the canal. Plus, these days electronic evidence is also crucial and useful. Google location too can provide usable information,” he said

IEP DEHRADUN

By taking a series of swift actions in less than 24 hours in the backdoor appointments in Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha and Ankita Bhandari murder case the Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has tried to give a clear message on governance to the people of the State. On Friday the Assembly speaker Ritu Khanduri sent a proposal to the State government that 228 backdoor appointments in the Vidhan Sabha secretariat should be cancelled.

 Acting promptly on the proposal the CM immediately accepted the proposal. He congratulated the speaker for the prompt inquiry in the case. Within hours of taking this decision, Dhami on late Friday night ordered demolition of the resort owned by Pulkit Arya, the son of the BJP leader Vinod Arya. Pulkit is the prime accused in the murder of Ankita Bhandari.

On Saturday Dhami ordered the removal of Ankit Arya from the post of deputy chairman of the Uttarakhand Other Backward Caste Commission. Ankit is the brother of Pulkit Arya. Acting on the suggestion of CM the president of the Uttarakhand BJP, Mahendra Bhatt removed Vinod Arya and his son Ankit Arya from the BJP. It is pertinent to mention here that on the backdoor appointments in the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha, Dhami had requested the speaker to get the case investigated and cancel the appointments if found illegal.

 This stand of CM assumed significance in the wake of the allegations that relatives and acquaintances of the senior BJP leader and RSS functionaries figure in the list of 72 appointments done during the tenure of the Speaker Prem Chand Agarwal. Incidentally Agarwal who holds the Finance, parliamentary affairs and urban development portfolios has been consistently claiming that all the appointments done by him were legal. In the Ankita Bhandari case, CM acted as per the public aspirations and ordered the demolition of Vananatra, the illegal resort of Pulkit Arya.

 On the orders of the CM, the bulldozer of the Pauri administration demolished the resort of the accused in murder of Ankita Bhandari. The prompt decisions taken by CM taken one after another show that Dhami wants to give a clear message that the policy of Zero tolerance on corruption adopted by him would continue and he would compromise on governance. These steps are also being viewed as an attempt to salvage the image of his government which has taken a beating in recent times due recruitment scams and the charges of improper handling of law and order situation.