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CM gives nod to task force
Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri adressing a function of PHDCCI in Dehradun. Tribune photograph
Plans for gas power plant, says chief secy
Experts: Need for science communicators
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Rs 1.5 crore goes up in flames Firemen douse the flames at the Telephone Exchange near the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha in Dehradun on Thursday. Tribune Photo: Anil Rawat
Cops need to be pro-active, says DGP
sports
Young11 beat Rishikesh Tigers
Study Report
Drive to check food adulteration
‘Triveni’ weaves sheer magic
(From left) Kiran Sehgal, Bharati Shivaji and Shovana Narayan at Virasat 08 in Dehradun on Thursday. Tribune photo: Anil Rawat
Despite govt efforts, Ganga impure
This Doesn’t Add Up
Cricket players at mercy of UP selectors
Next river of sorrow?
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CM gives nod to task force
Dehradun, October 23 In the interactive session organised by the PHDCCI here yesterday on the issue of infrastructure development and industrial growth, Khanduri called upon the apex industry organisation to be partner in development of the young state created for the purpose of progress of the hilly region. “ Since industrialisation of this region was one of the major demands in the movement for its creation, I assure you that all bottlenecks coming in way of industrial growth will be removed,” he announced. Appealing to the industry to invest in goodwill to reap long-term benefits, the CM, however, lamented that industrial units availing tax holiday and other benefits under the special package had set up only assembly units in the industrial estates. This showed they were here not to promote the cause of long-term industrial growth of the state. “ This has saddened me. But I am not anti-industry as I am often called,” he said while reiterating his commitment to the promotion of the industry. It was in this context that he disclosed that he had urged the Prime Minister to extend the special package for at least three years beyond 2010. The industrialists lauded the CM’s gesture of accepting their request for a task force so as to hasten the process of laying a sound industrial base. The PHDCCI had suggested that an instrument of task force was required for both sides to understand each other’s problems on a regular basis and to remove impediments faced by the industry. For this, the task force, proposed to be headed by the state’s chief secretary, should meet every month, suggested PK Jain, a former president of the PHDCCI. |
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Plans for gas power plant, says chief secy
Dehradun, October 23 The chief secretary IK Pandey disclosed the government move to enhance availability of power in the meeting held between the state government officials and the members of PHDCCI on the issues of improving infrastructure and development of industry in the state. Pandey also assured them that the availability of power was expected to improve further with implementation of new hydro-power projects as well as by strengthening of transmission and distribution system. Allaying the fears of industry’s exodus from the state after expiry of the special incentive package in 2010, he asserted there was no question of situation coming to this pass, as the government was already working to have all the measures required for the sustenance of the industry. “The state would not lose its attractiveness for investment in the industrial sector even beyond the special package period on the strength of adequate availability of power at a lower tariff compared to other states,” he added. On the issue of lack of skilled workforce, the secretary, technical education informed the government was fully aware of the need to improve the quality of the workforce. For this, steps were taken to increase the number of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), since creation of the state, from 63 to 104. The construction of buildings for 25 new ITIs which would become functional by 2009-10, is underway. Steps were being taken to involve the industry representatives in their management and revise the curriculum in sync with the needs of the industry. Responding to the concern of the PHDCCI over poor transport connectivity, Pandey assured the upgraded traffic control system at Jolly Grant airport would be in place by January 2009. This would facilitate landing of bigger aircrafts. Coinciding with Kumb Mela, rail connectivity between Delhi-Hardwar would be augmented with higher frequency of rain service besides widening of Meerut-Hardwar road. The chief secretary also promised to take up with the union railway ministry, the industry’s demand for increasing the train service between Delhi and Rudarpur. |
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Experts: Need for science communicators
Dehradun, October, 23 Dr Rajender Dobhal, Dobhal, Director, Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) was the chief guest for the occassion. He asked the journalists to take science reporting in a big way as that alone could disseminate scientific knowledge for the benefit of the common man. He also stressed upon scientists to learn the art of popular communication so that knowledge and research reached the people and did not remain confined to scientific organisations, centers of excellence or the universities. “UCOST was making serious efforts to popularize science as well as running a large number of Uttarakhand specific research projects,” Dr Dobhal said. The UCOST will be organizing the next Uttarakhand Science Congress at IIT- Roorkee in November, Dr Dobhal observed. Over 50 graduates and post graduates in Science, Engineers, Journalists, Journalism students, field level activists or people having a flair for writing in Hindi, English or any regional language were imparted tools of popular communication. |
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Rs 1.5 crore goes up in flames
Dehradun, October 23 Initial estimates revealed that material worth Rs 1.5 crore was reduced to ashes. As a result of the fire, almost 2,500 landline phones, 750 mobile phones, 750 WLL and Broadband services have been hit. According to BSNL officials, telephone services in the Vidhan Sabha, Defence Colony, Shastri Nagar (Haridwar Road), Jogiwala, Badripur and some areas on Haridwar Road up o Rajeshwari Nursery have been hit. Fire Officer C.S.Jeena said the fire broke out at 1 pm and as many as five fire tenders were rushed to the site. Though MDF was destroyed, commendable effort by firemen prevented the flames from spreading to the generator room and electrical unit of the exchange.” The fire was caused by a short circuit. Two ACs of the MDF of the exchange had developed a snag. “ The moment the electrician switched on the main power, fire broke out due to a short circuit,” said Jeena, adding that efforts to control the fire by using fire-fighting arrangements proved in vain. Subsequently, the fire brigade was called. “ Since, the MDF had mainly plastic wiring and glass wool, the fire spread fast. By the time our fire tenders reached there , the entire MDF was gutted. But our firemen did well to save the generator room and the electricity unit.” SSP Amit Kumar Sinha and chief fire officer C.K.Chakarvarty also took stock of the situation. In another incident, a fire broke out in a shop selling plastic chairs and mattresses in Kashipur area of Udham Singh Nagar at 7.30 am today. Fifteen fire tenders were pressed into service to control it. It took nearly one hour to douse the flames. Rough estimates put the loss at Rs 15 lakh. |
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Cops need to be pro-active, says DGP
Dehradun, October 23 “Public has a feeling that police swings into action after the occurrence of some incident. Hence, I feel that police personnel should have to be pro-active and not reactive”, DGP told gathering of police officials. He also said that public even consider cops as “biased” and “corrupt” adding, “Hence, it is required that police must undergo necessary changes in order to improve its image.” The DGP opined that to his mind community policing seems to be the best way of establishing a better rapport with the commoners. “Apart from maintaining law and order, crime prevention and other routine responsibilities, it should be endeavour of every police personnel to solve the problems of different nature being faced by public”, he said. Joshi further added that though during the past one year, several initiatives had been taken by Uttarakhand police for betterment of the masses. “But very frankly, I feel that results have not been that satisfactory”, he mentioned. DGP informed that in order to make the system more effective and community policing a medium to help the masses, they have decided to constitute 300 beats in Garhwal and 200 beats in Kumaon. “For every beat, there would be two cops of the rank of head constable and constable. Every beat officer would be looking after three to four areas. In this manner, these officers would act as a bridge between police and public”, he revealed. Joshi also informed that police department would also be providing specialised training to the cops in this regard. |
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Kuhoo bags under-13 b’minton title
Vishal Thakur
Dehradun, October 23 In the under-13 girls doubles Kuhoo together with Ashita defeated Sema Bist and Vratika 21-19, 21-14. In a tough match in the under-16 girls singles Smriti (Almora) defeated Vinita Panwar (Almora) 21-17, 16-21,21-19. In a closely fought under-10 boys doubles Lakshya Sen and Anshul (Almora) defeated Vyom and Ujjwal (Dehradun) 21-18, 16-21, 21-13. In the under-10 boys singles, Lakshya Sen defeated Vaibhav Chauhan 21-11, 16-21, 21-18. In under-13 boys singles, Chirag Sen (Almora) defeated Punit Bhatt (Dehradun) 21-11, 21-14.
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Young11 beat Rishikesh Tigers
Dehradun, October 23 In the third knock out match Love City defeated Swasthya XI. Monty scored 25 runs. Inderjeet was the man of the match. Love City set a target of 82 runs for Swasthya XI.
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Study Report
Dehradun, October 23 Presenting his papers at Mountain building and climate tectonic interaction workshop today here in Dehradun, DP Dobhal, eminent scientist with Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology Dehradun revealed of the widespread snout fluctuation in Dokriani Glacier in the Bhagirathi basin of Garhwal Himalayas. Dokriani glacier, one of the well development compound valley type of glacier in Bhagirathi basin in the Garhwal Himalayas is being monitored for its snout fluctuation since 1991. With a total catchment of 15.7
kilometres. While disclosing that the total snout retreat of Dokriani glacier from 1962-63 to 1991 has been about 480 metres with recession of an average rate of 16.5 mt per year, the frontal area vacated by the glacier is 10 percent of the total glacier area. Field observations carried by Dr Dobhal carried out during period 1991 to 2000 and 2000 to 2007 revealed that the glacier has been receeding by nearly 161 metres and 110 metres with an average rate of 17.8 metre per year and 15.5 meter per year respectively. The study amply reveals that the annual rate of retreating rate of Dokriani glacier snout is
not uniform. But interestingly, the glacier snout recession during period 2000-07, was 15.5 meters, which is comparatively less than
last decade. However, Dr Dobhal feels that snout recession studies are capable of providing the partial information regarding the volumetric and geometrical changes happening in the glacier during a recessional phase and need more comprehensive for understanding the glacier dynamics. Dokriani glacier study could certainly help a long way in understand the glacier dynamics. Glaciers are commonly regarded as sensitive indicators of climatic changes and their snout is the best tool for glacier advance and retreat over the period of few years or decades. “Himalayan Glaciers have been retreating due to the climate changes but the rate of recession is rather irregular in terms of amount, rate and time of occurrence, which depends upon the topographic and climate conditions of the area,” opines
DP Dobhal. He has been accorded with title, ‘Heroes of Environment’, by the Time Magazine last year for his glacier study. He is also credited with his unique method of using bamboo sticks to measure the thickness of the glaciers has helped in collecting valuable scientific data from Himalayan region. |
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Drive to check food adulteration
Roorkee, October 23 In a bid to check sale of adulterated foods and beverages in the town during the ongoing festive season, the health department of RMC has launched a special drive across the town and suburbs. In its special drive launched here, a team led by RMC food inspector, R.K Agarwal raided over dozen sweet shops situated in the main bazaar, Malviya Chowk, Roorkee talkies and Hardwar road of the town on apprehensions that these shops were selling adulterated food prepared in unhygienic
conditions. The team collected samples of various food items especially that of sweets from these eating joints for lab tests. "These samples were later sent to the lab at Lakhnow for testing and if samples resulted positive, necessary action would be taken against the offenders," said Agarwal. The special drive of RMC intends to cover all parts of the town to ensure that the quality of food products was maintained and public was not exposed to any health hazard. The drive by the health department will be continued till Diwali. It is worth mentioning that during the festive season it is usually experienced that the manufacturers use an artificial sweetener saccharine in the products, which is illegal. Lauding the drive of the health department, a local resident, Umesh Bhardwaj said, "In order to win the crusade against adulterated foods and beverages the existing laws and standards need to be vigorously enforced by the relevant authorities besides harsher penalties need to be introduced to deter the individuals from engaging in
such activities." |
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‘Triveni’ weaves sheer magic
Dehradun, October 23 An amalgamation of tarana, taal and raga gets a unique expression when the three dance on stage, so too in life there is a deep bonding that gets translated into perfect body movements. As Kiran Seghal puts in: “Our dancing styles may have some similarity.” An exponent of bharatnatyam, she blossomed under the tutelage of Maya Dhara Raut, credited for giving Odissi it’s distinct identity. Bharati Shivaji credits her guru Kavalam Narayan Paniker for helping her hone her skills in Mohiniattayam. “Both the guru and disciple must work in tandem. In fact, without a gentle push from the guru nothing much can be achieved,” says Bharati. Clad in a yellow sari, Shovana started learning kathak at the age of two. “ When we dance, the three of us impart our own styles, it is all there for the observer to see the difference in our speed and style, but it is the wholeness that we celebrate together, again and again.” Shovana has extensively experimented with western forms like flamenco, tap dance and classical opera. “ It is wonderful to experience and learn the genesis of all dances and come face to face with their evolution,” she says. “ The ultimate reality of a dancer is oneness with God, our egos subsume in the face of this powerful knowledge. Dance is the ultimate reality. It takes one to the higher realm.” Shovana finds characters in mythology appealing. “ The ultimate sacrifice of renunciation by Buddha may have given the world a new meaning but it is his wife allowing their only son to follow in the footsteps of his father that has moved me to tears many a time on stage, ” she concludes. |
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Despite govt efforts, Ganga impure
Haridwar, October 23 No step has been taken to stop this. Also, sewarage water from houses goes directly into the river which makes all cleansing efforts in vain. In 1986 on the behest of former the late Rajiv Gandhi, the Ganga Pollution Control Board was set up to clean and take care of the Ganga. Despite spending crores on the project, polluted water and wastage through open sewerage can be seen at Har ki Pauri itself, belying board claims on the pollution having been effectively checked. The Ganga has been closed these days and every other day either local administrators or ministers are seen monitoring or organising “Ganga cleansing” functions. But nothing has been done about the filth being dumped into the Ganga through the sewer lines. An official of the Ganga Pollution Control Board said: “It takes time to solve problems. These sewer lines emanate from the city itself. During Kumbh preparations these will be taken care of. Public support and awareness is also needed to clean In 1985, the Government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan to clean the river in selected areas by installing sewage treatment plants and imposing fines as well as taking legal action against industries that pollute. Almost 23 years later, the plan has not served any purpose. Rameshwar Sharma, a local resident says: "These sewer lines pollute the river and it is a shame that people coming from outside don't know that the water is not safe to bath." Even the World Health Organisation has stated in its report that one person dies every minute due to water-borne diseases in the Ganga river basin in which Haridwar is also included. It seems gigantic efforts are needed to clean the Ganga. |
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This Doesn’t Add Up
Dehradun, October 23 Only 3,270 students from all 13 districts of the state have been covered under the scheme till date despite the fact that it was launched way back in 2004. There are 6.23 lakh identified BPL families in the state. Interestingly, no student from Pithoragarh, Nainital and Haridwar districts has been able to avail the scholarship so far. This is happening despite the government claim that Uttarakhand is one of the few states which has brought every BPL in the ambit of social security. Secretary, social welfare department Manisha Panwar said that identifying these students was an ongoing process. “ We are on the job.” She conceded the number of students identified so far was less than expected. She could not give a convincing reason for the same. Sources blame official apathy. The scheme started by the government in collaboration with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) covers BPL students from Classes 9 to 12 under which each student gets a Rs 100 monthly scholarship. Sources said the issue cropped up during a review meeting between the department and LIC officials. |
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Cricket players at mercy of UP selectors
Dehradun, 23 October As a result the state is unable to host any Ranji trophy matches. The budding talent in the state is unable to come to the surface in the absence of a cricket association and are not getting exposure. Cricketing careers of many such talented young players who are unable to shift to other states is jeopardised. Interestingly, the infighting amongst various cricket associations that surfaced after the state came into existence being is the primary reason for not getting affiliation as a separate state unit by the board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI). "All association should come together and form a single cricketing body. The body should work to promote the abundant cricketing talent which otherwise is going waste," said V. Venkat Rao, a former coach of Mahender Singh Dhoni. Rao was on a visit to Dehradun on Wednesday. Presently there are two associations at the state level vying with each other at the district level in Dehradun. All these associations claim themselves to be the true representative bodies and wanted to control the affairs of the cricket in the state. |
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Next river of sorrow?
Roorkee, October 23 The morphology of this major Himalayan river is in a state of flux which gives rise to channel instability. Noted scientist Prof Nayan Sharma, Department of Water Resources Development and Management, here told The Tribune that the ongoing satellite imagery based studies have shown that the plan-form configurations of the Ganga at several vulnerable sites such as near Digha in Patna where Gandak river joined it from the north, near Bateswarsthan upstream of Kosi confluence zone, Punarak near Mukama town and Arjunpur near Buxar are few such locations where significant occurrence of channel changes have been noticed. "The unabated drifting of the Ganga main river course towards the left due to unabated erosion process in the upstream region of the Farakka barrage has now become quite alarming. At this site, there looms large a very serious threat of the entire Ganga river course outflanking the Farakka barrage along the left bank side in not-too-distant future," said Prof Sharma, adding, in such an eventuality, the main broad gauge line linking Northeast region with west of the country will be snapped, which may become a major disaster for the country. "The bottom line of these observations is that we need to go about management of these complex river systems in a holistic concerted manner encompassing catchments, basin and the river course," he asserts. |
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Dehradun, October 23
Dehradun, October 23
Dehradun, October 23
Haridwar, October 23
