Temples of dissent

The Uttaranchal government has proposed a move to bring a legislation in the next Assembly session to bring the famous Char Dham temples und...

The Uttaranchal government has proposed a move to bring a legislation in the next Assembly session to bring the famous Char Dham temples under direct government control. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams are one of the most revered religious places of Hindus situated in Garhwal Himalayas. On the line of the famous Vaishno Devi temple of Jammu and Kashmir which has seen a phenonemenal rush of pilgrims since it was taken over by the state government, the Uttaranchal government also propose to take control of these shrines. Then J038;K Governor Jagmohan transformed the Vaishno Devi temple by creating tremendous facilities for the pilgrims and by beautification of the entire area. The tourist traffic to the Vaishno Devi shrine touched 6 million pilgrims annually 8212; the single biggest source of religious tourism leading to the economic transformation of the entire Jammu region.

Sadly, despite four years of existence, the Uttaranchal government could do little to improve facilities at the Char Dhams. The geographical distance, natural disasters and lackadaisical approach of the state government has acted as a damper on the largescale flow of religious tourists.

Earlier also, the state government had initiated a move to clean up and beautify the Char Dham circuit in Garhwal Himalayas , starting with the famous Badrinath temple. Jagmohan, the then Union Minister of Tourism and Culture, was made the chairman of the newly constituted Char Dham Board for the development of ancient Hindu Char Dham temples.

Already voices of dissent from Hindu religious leaders have started pouring in.

House of spirits

There is a lull in political circles in the state after hyper activity in the ruling Congress for over a month on the possibility of a change in the leadership. Veteran Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari, who himself initiated the talk about leaving the state and getting some other responsibility, is firmly in the saddle, but over half a dozen aspirants for the top post are still not able to reconcile with the fact that it was just a storm in a tea cup.

The refusal of the party high command to move out Tiwari has given a jolt to his detractors but has consolidated his hold over party legislators. Interestingly, Tiwari who would be completing three years in office in Uttaranchal in March next year has yet to face a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party CLP. The veteran Congress leader who avoids holding formal press conferences, has also discouraged holding formal CLP meetings before the start of the Assembly session. Tiwari, who has half a century of legislative experience being four times Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh besides being Union Minister, has also not used his offices in the Vidhan Sabha and state secretariat. After taking over in March 2002, Tiwari has been working from his residence. He has been an occasional visitor to the Vidhan Sabha and secretariat.

Matbar Singh Kandari, leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party BJP Legislature Party leader has termed the Vidhan Sabha as a 8216;8216;Bhoot Bangla8217;8217; . He charged that only class three and four employees are present in Vidhan Sabha and most of the ministers play truant. The declining number of visitors due to the absence of ministers and most importantly of Chief Minister Tiwari has made the Vidhan Sabha totally redundant.

A khand or a chal?

Story continues below this ad

What is in a name? But, both the ruling Congress and the main Opposition BJP have been fighting over the name of the state. The Congress wants Parliament to pass a resolution in the current session changing the name of the state from Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand. Uttaranchal PWD and Information Minister Indira Hariydesh, who is virtually number two after the Chief Minister, said that the name Uttaranchal given by the BJP at the time of the formation of the state was against the spirit and sentiments of the people of the state. Former Chief Minister and BJP state unit chief Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, refuting the Congress allegations, asks what8217;s in a name. He said that the Congress in order to camouflage its8217; failures, is trying to rake up non-issues.Dhirendra Pratap, Congress general secretary has written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi urging her to get the resolution passed in the current session of Parliament, keeping in view the sentiments of the people of the region and also to fulfil the election promise made by her party at the time of the Assembly polls in 2002. Already, the Uttaranchal Assembly had passed a resolution to this effect and sent to the Lok Sabha nearly three years ago.

Omar Khayyam Tiwari

Uttaranchal Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari impressed with Meri Pyari BoiMy beloved mother, a Garhwali feature film, announced entertainment tax exemption to all such directors who make Garhwali or Kumoani feature films. The film depicts the life and travails of a hill mother who is left alone as all male members move out to the plains in search of jobs. However, Tiwari seemed to miss the company of beautiful women, as he inquired about the whereabouts of the film8217;s heroine and asked why the organisers had separated her from the Chief Guest. Old habits die hard.

The female dynamic

The first woman Mayor of Dehradun city, Manorama Sharma Dobriyal, who also president of the Uttaranchal unit of the Mahila Congress, has now been elected Convenor of the Asian Mayors8217; Conference proposed to be held in Doon valley in March next year. Being a dynamic Mayor, who has the courage to take on senior Uttaranchal government ministers on the issue of civic matters, Manorama Sharma was elected convenor of the Asian Mayors8217; Conference at a gathering of over 60 mayors from different parts of the country held at Bangalore recently.

The babu life

The findings of the public survey carried out by Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra RLEK on the performance of the Uttaranchal state government and individual bureaucrats has generated a lot of interest amongst both bureaucrats as well as ministers. While, women bureaucrats who got kudos in the public survey are happy, others who have been rated low, rubbish the report. However, interestingly, officials wanted to read the public ratings particularly about themselves and their departments. Many of the bureaucrats as well as their spouses procured the survey to know the public perception and read it secretly.