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List II: 22 get top civic posts
Cong works for betterment of downtrodden: MP
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Ministerial Services staff strike continues
Set up sanitation panels in 15 days: NRHM chief
Bhatt thanks Centre for Kumbh quota
Students of ICFAI boycott exams
33,245 workers given smart cards: Minister
Power staff protest privatisation of projects
Three killed in separate road mishaps
Women take on illegal liquor shops
Health centres to be renovated
Ranbir Encounter Case
Doon Hospital doctor fined
Soon, nephro dialysis unit at Coronation Hospital
Support for stir of development staff
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List II: 22 get top civic posts SMA Kazmi Tribune News Service
Dehradun, January 21 Interestingly, given the political sensitivity of the matter, the entire process of granting these positions was done in a hush-hush manner. There was no official word from the state government. However, the leaders were contacted individually by the officials and told about the grant of these positions. Buoyed by the grant of official largesses, some of the ruling BJP leaders have even put up big hoardings in the city felicitating the incumbents. The issue of grant of such positions has remained a politically volatile issue with the ruling BJP as it was only the BJP that made it an election issue during the 2007 assembly elections. Then a large number of such positions, most of them innocuous and without any worthwhile work, were allotted by the previous Congress government led by former Chief Minister ND Tewari. After the BJP came to power following the victory in the 2007 assembly polls, it found itself in an awkward position on the issue. But, as the pressure from the rank and file of the party mounted, Khanduri did grant these positions to party leaders. The legislators were left out on the plea that they had been given party ticket. This was one of the reasons for discontentment among party legislators that finally led to the removal of Khanduri as Chief Minister, following a crushing defeat on all five Lok Sabha seats of the state in the May 2009 Lok sabha elections. The new Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank started on a cautious note and asked all such position holders to resign. But the pressure on him increased with each passing day as anxiety mounted among the hopeful party leaders. Nishank, knowing fully well about the political ramifications of the grant of such large-scale positions at a time when the next assembly polls are 24 months away, did try to keep it a low-key affair. In the first instalment, he adjusted some senior party leaders and now has again tried to placate others. He has also tried to strike a balance by adjusting second-rung leaders owing allegiance to senior state party leaders, particularly Khanduri and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. But, question of adjusting party legislators remained unsolved. Another big challenge for Nishank would be to fill the vacancy in his ministry created after the resignation of Forest Minister Bishan Singh Chufal, who had resigned after being made the president of the state unit of the party.
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Cong works for betterment of downtrodden: MP
Dehradun, January 21 Addressing the gathering and shedding light on the history of the Congress he said, “Our party has always worked for the betterment of downtrodden, while the BJP has failed to do so”. Industrialist Dr S Farooq added that, “As successful and educated human beings, our motto should be to help the needy and poor people of the society. “I appreciate the work of the Congress people and wish them success for
their endeavours”. “We are seriously concerned for the development of poor people, however, the BJP is overlooking these grave issues and is enjoying rides in their red beacon Ambassador cars,” said committee former president Lal Chandra Sharma. Ashok Kohli, Charanjeet Kaushal, Shakeel Ahmed, Shashi Gaud, Anil, Gagan, Dharampal, Akhil Gupta, Kalawati Joshi and other members of the committee were present at the occasion. |
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Ministerial Services staff strike continues
Dehradun, January 21
The protesters alleged that the state government had failed to stand by the agreement signed with the ministerial association to implement increment in the salaries of the employees of all categories. It is pertinent to mention that the employees of the Ministerial Services and the Principal Secretary of the state government had a meeting to resolve the issue of the strike, but the meeting failed to achieve its target to match the consensus. About 42 departments from different district of the state are on strike. Over 35 lakh employees, including of Business and Trade, RTO, Child Development, Health, Irrigation, Forestry, Education, Ayurvedic and Unani, Horticulture, Collectorate, Animal Husbandry, Defence Welfare departments and several others, are sitting on dharna. |
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Set up sanitation panels in 15 days: NRHM chief
Dehradun, January 21 He called upon the officers to ensure that the committees are created within 15 days. He asked the District Panchayat Raj officer to open bank accounts of committees at the village level. Doiwala Development Block has been allocated Rs 7.90 lakh, Raipur - Rs 10.8 lakh, Sahaspur - Rs10.40 lakh, Vikas Nagar - Rs 6.80 lakh, Chakrata - Rs 15.40 lakh and Kalsi - Rs 20.40 lakh. Bhatt said all sanitation committees were allocated Rs 10,000 for undertaking sanitation drive. If they managed to complete earlier than the stipulated time-frame, they could get an additional sum of Rs 10,000. On the Janani Suraksha Yojana, Bhatt said the BPL patients could avail the scheme at Mahant Indresh Hospital, Lehman Hospital Vikas Nagar, Himalayan Institute Hospital (Jolly Grant). CMO Dr GC Baunthiyal said for 2008-2009 seed money (Rs 5 lakh each) for the upgrading and renovation of Doon Hospital and District Womens’ Hospital was given while Doiwala and Vikas Nagar were given Rs 1 lakh each for the same purpose. |
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Bhatt thanks Centre for Kumbh quota
Dehradun, January 21
“We express gratitude to Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Sharad Pawar for his benevolence towards releasing necessary foodgrain for Uttarakhand under the Kumbh quota”. He said it was very important that the distribution system stood transparent and his ministry would ensure a day-to-day submission of the distribution report to the government. During of his deliberations with Pawar, Bhatt had held that it was not proper to compare Uttarakhand with other state as the hill state was facing food challenges on several fronts. He had said while rain had eluded the state, the problem of wild animal attacking crops had become a big problem affecting the state production. |
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Students of ICFAI boycott exams
Dehradun, January 21 About 25 cops were deployed outside the campus to stop any ruckus if created by the students. “None of us have appeared in the examination in protest. We only demand re-admitting of the two expelled students in the college,” said one of the students. NSUI former president Pankaj Singh Chhetri and party state president Sangram Singh Pundir also protested in support of the expelled students. They threatened to approach the state’s education body for taking them back in
the institute. |
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33,245 workers given smart cards: Minister
Pitthoragarh, January 21 He was on his way to attend the Labour Minister’s Conference in New Delhi. “We have received a sum of Rs 1.12 crore under this scheme. Out of this, Rs 1.09 crore have been spent till date under the scheme,” said Pant. The state government has specially taken up the cases of labourers working in the construction sector, specially in three districts of Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, under the scheme. Registration for every unit having more than 10 labourers was made compulsory with a registration fee varying from Rs 500 to 2,500. “We have constituted a Uttarakhand Housing and Other Related Worker Welfare Board under an expert committee headed by the Labour Commissioner of the state that will make recommendations about the welfare of workers,” said Pant. The state government has also made registration compulsory for units employing labourers between 18 and 60 years of age and instructed to issue them identity cards. “As a result of these provisions, workers will not only get weekly off-days and overtime dues, but also get essential facilities like drinking water and toilets at the workplace,” said the minister. The government has registered 236 institutions in the state under the scheme and collected Rs 11 lakh from these as their share under the scheme. “We have appointed tehsildars as cess collectors and responsible for the implementation of the scheme in their respective areas,” said Prakash Pant. |
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Power staff protest privatisation of projects
Dehradun, January 21
He warned the state government of dire consequences if it proceeded with its plans to hand over power projects to private hands. “We will hold a protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence if the government does not bring a change in its attitude vis-à-vis power projects,” Dhasmana pointed out. He also alleged that the state BJP government was ignoring the important power sector. He said it was strange that the state today faced massive power cuts and the power generation had become static. Referring to the other concerns of employees of power sector, the Congress leader said time bound pay scale, increase in overtime limit and end to contract system must be done immediately. Union president Kehar Singh, Virendra Kumar Sharma, BD Chamoli, Gajmohan Singh Bisht were prominent participants to these protests. |
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Three killed in separate road mishaps
Nainital, January 21
The deceased have been identified as 32-year-old Pushkar Singh
Dafoti of the Cantonment area, Nainital, and 35-year-old Mahendra Singh Bisht of Tirchakhet near Bhawali. The accident took place near Bhujyaghat. According to the information, the two succumbed to their injuries while being taken to Haldwani for
medical assistance. Dafoti was a contractor and Bisht was working as a contractual employee with the Academic Staff College of the Kumaon University. In the second incident, truck driver Mahipal Singh Bisht died when his loaded vehicle overturned near Gulabghati. He was going from Haldwani to Bageshwar. It is learnt that he died instantly. Cleaner of the truck Anil had a narrow escape and is undergoing treatment at the Base Hospital in
Haldwani. Woman electrocuted
Dehradun: A 47-year-old woman allegedly died of electrocution when she was plugging in the switch of a mixie-grinder that got short circuit here today. She also caught fire. A native of Bhopal Pani, Nimla Devi was working in the kitchen when she caught fire due to the short circuit. Her daughter who was in another room at that time raised an alarm after seeing her mother afire. Nearby residents rushed to the spot and doused the fire. The police reached the spot and took the body to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. The police said the exact reason of the death could come out only after the postmortem report. |
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Women take on illegal liquor shops
Nainital, January 21 They not only made the liquor-consumers flee from such shops, but also destroyed liquor wherever it was found. They once again aired their resentment against such trade and said the practice had made the place unsafe for women and was having a negative impact on the atmosphere of the place. Residents of Lamachaur and adjoining Fatehpur have reportedly held several protests and demonstrations seeking an end to the trade. They have been pointing out that illegally manufactured home-made liquor finds its way into several small shops and eateries and is being sold openly. |
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Health centres to be renovated
Dehradun, January 21 The Landhora PHC in Haridwar district, Manglaur, Narsan,
Bhagwanpur, Luxar Community Health Centre will be upgraded and District Women Hospitals repaired. The OPD
block and toilets will also be repaired. For improving the health centre of Haridwar, Rs 63.81 will be spent. A sum of Rs 19.64 will
be spent for repair work at Rajkiya Hospitals located at Chitai, Mahela, Barsuli, Manila Digai, Pilkholi and Monkhall villages. |
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Three more cops get bail
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, January 21 The hearing of the remaining three cops is scheduled for tomorrow. The seven policemen were arrested in connection with the fake encounter of a Ghaziabad native Ranbir in the state capital. Ranbir Singh, an MBA student from Ghaziabad, was killed on July 3 last year. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a chargesheet against 18 policemen for their alleged involvement in the Ranbir encounter case. Out of these cops, seven were arrested on October 17 and 21. The bail plea of the accused was rejected by the special CBI court and all cops were in jail since then. After the filing of the chargesheet in the case, they had applied for bail in the high court.
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Doon Hospital doctor fined
Dehradun, January 21 After receiving an unsatisfactory reply, Harvinder made an appeal at SIC that then asked the CMS to reconstruct the disability certificate and take action in the matter on December 31, 2009. Not satisfied with the reply, Information Commissioner Dr RS Tolia imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, which would be deducted from his salary. Earlier too, SIC had imposed a fine on officials for failing to provide information, the maximum fine that can be imposed on an individual is Rs 25,000. |
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Soon, nephro dialysis unit at Coronation Hospital
Dehradun, January 21 Once the unit becomes functional, it will bring immense relief to the patients who are forced to travel to Chandigarh and Delhi due to lack of facilities here. The ultra-modern unit will come up at the first floor of the hospital. As per the Health Department among the three bidders, Apollo Hospitals (Chennai) was selected for quoting the lowest rates. It will be mandatory upon the private party to provide two nephrology specialists, trained nursing staff (four-six), technicians (at least three), besides establishing the unit. It is expected that once the nephrology unit gets going, a similar arrangement is expected to be replicated in the remaining hospitals proving to be a boon to patients who will have top medical facilities in the state. Patients in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category will be provided free-of-cost treatment, while the Above Poverty Line (APL) patients will have to pay Rs 150 as user charges and also pay for consumables if the need be, costing an additional sum of Rs 1,000, but 15 per cent less than the market retail price. The private party will be extended financial support by the government for the services rendered. Similarly, the government is in the process of finalising the private party/organisation that will run the cardiology unit to be set up at the Coronation Hospital by the end of March. |
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Support for stir of development staff Dehradun, January 21 Several mahasanghs considered the demands of the employees right and extended a full support to them. The Uttarakhand Nikaye Karamchari Mahasangh also came today in support of the association members, who are sitting on a strike on the premises of the MDDA. The association warned the government to make an agreement concerning their demands before January 26, otherwise they all would go for a massive agitation in the state. The association had given a month’s notice to implement the Sixth Pay Commission to the MDDA administration, but the latter hadn’t done any agreement with it. Nikaye Karamchari Mahasangh regional general secretary Gajender Kumar Kapil and Nigam Karamchari Mahasangh general secretary Virender Rawat, along with other associations, met the secretary of the MDDA and gave him deadline of January 26 to resolve the issue by doing some agreement. |
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Dehradun, January 21
