More than 650 hectares of Uttarakhand land in grip of forest fires
Though no loss of life has been reported so far, officials say with the rise in mercury level the blaze is going out of control.
Uttarakhand Sports and Education Minister Arvind Pandey has once again hit headlines for his rough behaviour. After terming journalist blackmailers and agents of BJP/Congress last year, the minister this time shocked the public after he along with his supporters misbehaved with policeman at Kundeshwari in Kashipur (Udham Singh Nagar) on Tuesday morning.
Agitated over the police move to seize vehicles involved in illegal sand mining and overloading, Pandey reached the Kundeshwari police station with his supporters and entered into a heated argument using offensive language. He and his supporters even had a scuffle with the policemen.
Interestingly, Arvind Pandey was not present, citing poor health, when state BJP president Ajay Bhatt, who is contesting the ensuing Lok Sabha election from Nainital, filed his nomination at Ruderpur on Monday. Hours after the nomination filing concluded, Pandey turned up at the police station in an attacking mood.
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Agitated transporters reached the police station calling the policemen “thieves”, and accusing them of not providing basic courtesy to local leaders. They even manhandled some of the policemen present there. Using abusive language, the angry mob led by Arvind Pandey created a dangerous situation for the policemen.
A video of the transporters attacking the police station in the presence of Arvind Pandey has gone viral on social media. The video shows the minister reaching the police station with his supporters. Pandey is seen making a symbolic effort to stop the angry mob but they did not budge. The transporters abused the policemen and also manhandled some of them. The chowki in-charge saved his life by locking himself inside a room at the police station.
Illegal sand mining continues to thrive in Uttarakhand with an alleged nexus existing between mafia and political leaders.
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