Niharika did Doon proud

Another girl who made the Doon valley proud this week, was Niharika Singh, the second runner-up Miss India Earth at the Femina Miss India ...

Another girl who made the Doon valley proud this week, was Niharika Singh, the second runner-up Miss India Earth at the Femina Miss India contest this year. Daughter of an Uttaranchal Tourism officer, her victory was cause for much excitement among Doonites. Local newspapers were agog with reports about the windfall of good wishes sent to her from various quarters. Although she did not make it to the top, still, finishing third in the contest was reason enough for Doonites to feel proud.

Shortage of pachyderms on Rajaji National Park8217;s rolls

The proposed Rajaji National Park8212;spread over 800 square km in Dehradun, Pauri Garhwal and Haridwar districts8212;home to the largest concentration of Asiatic elephants, is facing a rather embarrassing shortage. The proposed park officials, who are caretakers of over 469 Asiatic elephants, are desperately in need of elephants on their rolls, after two elephants they used for patrolling, died. Two younger elephants currently on their rolls are finding it difficult to cope up with the workload, and G.S. Pandey, director of the proposed park, said efforts were on to procure two trained elephants from Assam.

Woman power all the way

The present political crisis that was set rolling by ruling party dissidents disrupting the ongoing budget session of the state Assembly8212;demanding a fresh probe into the 8216;unwed mother scandal8217;8212;saw another woman politician displaying her mettle. Even as CM N.D. Tiwari avoided the Assembly following the onslaught by his legislators, Uttaranchal PWD and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hariydesh tackled both rebels as well as the Opposition.

She single-handedly managed party rebels by accepting their demand for a fresh probe and also steered the state government in the House in the absence of the CM. Hariydesh even won over BSP chief Mayawati, on whose directions, the BSP legislators were soon praising the Congress government in the state while deriding the BJP for allegedly spreading communalism.

Caught in the crossfire

Office bearers of the Uttaranchal Congress recently found themselves trapped in the crossfire between arch rivals Uttaranchal CM N.D. Tiwari and Uttaranchal Congress chief Harish Rawat. An announcement by nine general secretaries of the Uttaranchal Congress to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi8212;to apprise her of the political situation in the state8212;didn8217;t go down well with either leader. While Harish Rawat made his annoyance clear to some, saying the meeting would tarnish his image, the CM8217;s camp viewed this development with suspicion. As a result, some general secretaries were forced to issue clarifications in newspapers.

Compiled by S.M.A. KAZMI