Dehradun, Aug ust 29
After lying low for two months and then suddenly resurfacing to throw a gauntlet at the party high command questioning the decision to remove him, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri is set to embark on an ambitious political mission in his home constituency of Pauri Garhwal from August 30, 2009.

Khanduri, who was removed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command despite having the support of majority of legislators in June, would be re-launching his political campaign from Kotdwar town of Pauri Garhwal district. He would be banking on the support of his core political base of ex-servicemen during his political 'yatra' in his home constituency.

Ex-servicemen of the region would be gathering at Kotdwar on August 30 to welcome him for the “Jan Jagran” yatra.

After lying low for a while, Khanduri became active after the Jinnah episode that led to the removal of senior party leader Jaswant Singh.

During the party's 'Chintan Baithak' at Shimla, Khanduri also started giving vent to his feelings, unhappy at the way he was removed following the debacle in the Lok sabha elections.

Later, he shot off a letter to the party President Rajnath Singh asking reasons behind his removal despite support of party legislators. Khanduri wanted that the party should reinstate him.

Former Union Surface Transport Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Khanduri went to the national capital and met senior leaders, including LK Advani and even met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, where he reportedly complained about his removal.

Meanwhile, his proposed visit he to his home constituency has raised alarm bells in the Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank camp.

Notably, both Khanduri and Nishank belong to Pauri Garhwal district. Khanduri is a senior leader who had won the Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat in 1991, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Presently, he is a member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from Dhumakot assembly segment of Pauri Garhwal. On the other hand, the Chief Minister does not match the political stature of Khanduri.

"I wanted to go back to my people. But due to ill- health and weather conditions, I could not do so. But now onwards, I will visit the area frequently," he said. 

Dehradun, August 29
Justice Madan B Lokur, senior high court judge said today that to make the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act (PNDT) effective, elected women representatives of panchayats need to be educated about the provisions in order to use it to curb the heinous practice.

Lokur was speaking at the inauguration of basic training programme on declining sex ratio and the PNDT Act for elected women representatives jointly organised by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra and Women Power Connect (WPC).

He called upon the women representatives to spread awareness about the law, “You need to take recourse in the law and use it more often to punish the offenders.

“By raising a voice against those engaged in sex selection practices, you will be doing a great service to society,” he said.

On the other hand, Keshav Desi Raju, principal secretary, Health, said the implementation aspect of the PNDT Act needed to be strengthened. “People in our society unfortunately do not find it wrong that technology is being misused for sex determination of the foetus and mostly if it is pronounced as female, it is promptly terminated,” he said.

The secretary said, “The existing sex ratio ratio gap between boys to girls (1000:968 ) in the state is a cause of concern, though the situation here is not as bad as it in Punjab and Haryana, we need to arrest it.

“The ratio of boys to girls under six years of age is, however, worrisome, same is the child mortality rate,” he said.

The panchayat women representatives also expressed their unhappiness at the functioning of the District Committees that have been constituted under the PNDT Act.

A total of 130 elected women representatives from different parts of the state attended the meeting.

Dehradun, August 29
The Gorkha Democratic Front (GDF) has announced that they would support the BJP candidate in the upcoming by-election for Vikasnagar Assembly seat.

The development followed a meeting between the delegation of the Front's leadership and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at Bijapur guesthouse here, yesterday evening.

Chairman of the Front Suryavikram Shahi informed that their organisation would actively campaign in the favour of the BJP candidate Kuldeep Kumar. "During the meeting, we discussed at length the problems being faced by our community. The CM has assured to take every possible step to solve them," he said.

The Front demanded that date on which Uttarakhand came into being should be fixed as the cut-off date for issuing domicile certificates to the community members besides expediting work on finalising a proposal to give them benefit of reservation under the OBC category.

The formation of Gorkha Welfare Council is another important demand of the Front.

Dehradun, August 29
Relatives of Matina, who died after delivering a baby at District Women’s Hospital yesterday, held a protest outside the CMS office demanding action against the erring doctors, blaming them for her death.

Mohammed Salim, brother of the victim, led by scores of people from his village, along with Doiwala MLA Dinesh Agarwal, held a protest at the hospital, charging the authorites of negligence.

“My sister died because she was given wrong blood. The behaviour of the authorities was also rude towards us,” alleged Salim.

Dr P Dimri, District Women’s Hospital, CMS, said a three-member team had been constituted to find out the reasons behind the incident.

“We had tried our level best to save her, but she was already very weak.

The post-mortem report has already been stated that the reasons of the death were uncertain.

However, Rizwan, husband of the victim, said the attitude of the authorities, from the day one, was not cooperative, they refused to admit Matina even though her condition was serious.

Meanwhile, a three-member team comprising Dr Mahesh Gaur of the Coronation hospital, Dr Manu Jain of Doon Hospital and Dr Savitri Uniyal of Rishikesh Hospital have been asked to submit the report on the incidence.

The hospital authorities are maintaining that the patient was in a state of shock after she was given the news about the birth of another baby girl, she already had four girls. 

Dehradun, August 29
Director General of Police Subash Joshi today took the crime review meeting for the districts of Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts through video conferencing.

The DGP sought preparation of the list of 10 most notorious persons that keep a history of criminal background and directed for prompt action against them.

He also directed for speedy action against the wanted criminals presented at large.

He also asked the Inspector Generals of Police to hold daily meetings for effective measures towards upholding law and order in the respective areas.

The DGP in particular also emphasised on strengthening of communication network. A campaign to register all outsiders living in the state will also start shortly.

He also had word of advice for his fellow policemen.

He asked them to adopt a professional and humane approach while undertaking their daily duties.

Joshi also called for start of refresh courses for the new recruits so as to ensure that they are well apt in taking up all challenges en-course of their duties.

Regular conduct of mock drill as part of preparedness was laid much emphasis during the meeting, which was attend by senior police officers from both Garhwal and Kumaon regions. 

Dehradun, August 29
Finally, the HNB Garhwal University has released the cut-off list for admissions to the private self-financed BEd institutes for 2008-09 session. This has paved way for admitting students against 50 per cent management quota seats.

Secretary, association of self-financed private institutes of Uttarakhand, Sunil Aggarwal said that process of admission would start in a couple of days.

“We will invite applications from the students through newspaper advertisement. The students will be given a week to apply. The admissions will strictly made on merit basis and in compliance with other instructions of the university,” he said.

Chastised by the recent decision of the National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) disaffiliating 21 institutes for their failure to comply by its norms, the institutes whose recognition is still intact are wary of committing any irregularities lest they face the same fate. As a result, they have decided to apply criteria of merit.

“We will not allow manipulation of any sort. The university and government policy on admissions in reserved categories will also be strictly adhered to,” added Aggarwal. With this, uncertainty prevailing over fate of this academic session has been cleared.

Since the cut-off list is applicable to all the institutes but some of them which had admitted the students against the management quota seats on the order of the Nainital High Court might be in trouble if the admissions made by them turn out to be below the cut-off list.

Such admissions would not be deemed valid. Since their opening under the state government policy four years back, all the private institutes were admitting students against 50 per cent management quota seats on first-come-first-serve basis but criteria of merit will be adopted for the first time. 

Dehradun, August 29
Designer furniture brands venturing in the markets of the state capital attracting people to experiment with their interiors. Array of cushion covers available in varied patterns are a perfect combination to add that extra glitter and to revamp the look of any living area. Colourful cushions with beautiful designs carved on it comes at a nominal price and is easy to maintain.

However, following the latest trends in the home décor segment, Dehradun has also come out with some high end designer labels, apart from the existing ones.

“Our range of cushions varies between Rs 135 to Rs 900. Not only localities, but foreigners also love to splurge particularly on Kalamkari, Bagh, Gudari and Silk print cushions, which, being typically Indian, appeal their aesthetic sense,” said Aarti Kohli, manager, Fab India.

Patchworks, embroidered, crocia, cut work, along with silk cushions, are available in almost all shades and depending on the look of the interiors can be mixed and matched.

“Apart from regular Rajasthani mirror work cushions, we have even introduced zari work cushions which are mostly in demand for being glittery adding brightness to any gloomy area. These can be maintained for a long time. The price of regular cushions varies from Rs 50 to Rs 90 per piece as compared to antique cushions, which are priced at Rs 325 for its intricate manual embroidery,” said Anuradha Sharma, Rajashani Emporium owner.

Rosebys, a popular brand in the home décor section, lately opened in the city and has some of the finest items for decorating the interiors.

“People like our cotton cushions and its demand of silk, sequence work, ribbon work and flower work cushions increasing day by day. The cushions are priced from Rs 150 to Rs 900 and the brand assures guarantee and quality,” said Anupriya, salesgirl, Rosebys.

“I love cushions as I feel that not only one can easily maintain them, but can creatively use it as a wall hanging also,” said Meena, homemaker. 

Dehradun, August 29
Summer Valley School’s dominance continued at 5th Wasu Memoria Inter-School Table Tennis Tournament as the school team won the u-19 team final here today. In the final they outclassed JMS by 3-0.

In u-14 First Single’s Final: Suraj of Summer Valley School beat Anurag of JMS by 11-2, 11-7 and 11-4.

In the Second Single’s Final: Akshay of Summer Valley School outplayed Siddharth of JMS by 11-4, 11-5, 11-5.

In the Third Single’s Final: Akash Gupta of Summer Valley School defeated Ganshyam of JMS by 8-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-6 and 11-8.

In u-17: Summer Valley School and Doon School will play in the finals tomorrow.

Result of the individual: Suraj Rana of SVS beat Neelabh Tiwari of SVS by 11-7, 11-6 and 11-7.

Meanwhile, Almora team made it to the final of the 9th Uttarakhand State Badminton Championship tomorrow.

Result:

In u-19: In the first match Swati (UKP) beat Smriti of (Almora), In the second match Poonam Tiwari defeated Khoo of (UKP). In double’s, Poonam and Vinita (Almora) beat Swati and Khoo of (UKP).

In Men Quarter Final: HRD and Uttarakhand Police team made it to semifinal. 

Dehradun, August 29
At least 200 inmates of the Dehradun district jail, including 50 women today took yoga lessons based on Sanatan Kriya developed by Yogi Ashwini. Volunteers of Delhi-based Dhyan Foundation conducted the session.

Jail superintendent BP Pandey who is credited with exposing the prisoners to various activities aimed at their reformation during their stay in jail, felt that yoga could contribute a lot in bringing about a turnaround in their mental makeup.

“We believe that through yoga, the prisoners can be taught the art of self-introspection which may help them wean away from negativity and enable them to resettle in the mainstream of society,” he said.

The post session response of the inmates vindicated the belief of Pandey to a great extent as volunteer Rochak Bansal, a businessman from Delhi said that several inmates came up to him saying they felt light and elevated.

Some insisted the session should be conducted regularly. For Bansal it was his first interaction with the prisoners. “I feel like coming back to them again,” he added. Another volunteer Renu Sharma, a Dehradun-based architect had almost similar response from the women inmates.

Bansal informed that inmates were taught how could they keep the body and mind calm in prison. They were introduced to ‘chakras’ and ‘panch mahapran’ in the body and how to keep them in balance. They were also taught about expansion of ‘anahat chakra’, the seat of love.

“We told them that they were in this place because of their Karma. If they start improving their karma by thinking for others, they will definitely move towards higher dimension of existence,” he said.

The Foundation’s aim is to reach out to the whole community whether the elite or the prisoners.

It is focusing on the prisoners because they are normally neglected. They were advised to do the ‘kriya’ for 10-15 minutes daily to reap its benefits.

The Foundation had earlier conducted a session for the women inmates. “But we will request the jail authorities to allow regular sessions either on weekly or monthly basis,” added Bansal.

Pandey responded that they would welcome any offer to voluntarily prepare the prisoners to start their lives afresh after serving their prison term. 

Dehradun, August 29
Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat has asserted that HMT and IDPL factories at Ranibag and Rishikesh would not be closed down as negotiations are on with their managements.

Rawat gave the assurance while responding to the memorandum given to him during his visit to Kathgodam by workers of HMT.

He said no factory employing minimum 100 workers was allowed to shift outside the state without prior permission of the government.

His government was also trying to ensure coordination between corporate sector and trade unions to solve labour problems in an amicable manner.

He said directions had been issued to all states to ensure effective implementation of labour laws by the industrial units. The benefit of PF and ESI would also be available in any unit employing 10 or more workers.

He alleged that violations of labour rights were taking place in the industry due negligence of the state governments. 

Dehradun, August 29
Dehradun Blue lifted the u-19 Ram Bahadur Chhetri Memorial Football Championship trophy here today. In the finals they outplayed Dehradun Red by a margin of 3-0.

Dehradun Red dominated the major part of the game but failed to score despite excellent passing and dribbling. Dehardun Red got the first jolt when Dehradun Blue striker Gaurav scored first goal in the 5th minute of the match.

Dehradun Red were in for further shock in the 25th minute of the match. This time it was Dehardun Red forward Manoj Majila, whose powerful kick sailed into the net.

The counter moves by Dehradun Red failed to penetrate the strong defense of the Dehradun Blue, which maintained 2-0 lead at the end of first half.

The second half was no different as Dehradun Red was visibly demoralised. There forward line failed to click in the face of strong man-to-man marking by Dehradun Blue. The strategy paid dividends as Dehradun Blue scored their third goal in the 65th minute of the match to take an invincible lead of 3-0.