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BJP holds rally against Central govt
Potable water crisis acute in hills, says Maharaj
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Verification of outside labourers conducted
Statehood activists face identity crisis, blame govts
Tiger count at Corbett
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Consumers ignorant about rights
Forum members’ posts vacant in 4 districts
NGO creates awareness about blood donation
Rath residents’ problems discussed
Protest against ‘misbehaviour’ to social worker
Sparsh Ganga II launch on March 20
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BJP holds rally against Central govt
Haldwani, March 14 In his address, senior Central party leader Ananth Kumar termed the continuing inflation as the biggest scam of independent India. “This is a scam bigger than Bofors and the share market scam. The Congress is squarely responsible for making the survival of the common man difficult. The success of the rally here makes me carry a message down till Kerala that people are now ready to overthrow the Congress regime,” he said. He further stated, “The Congress has ditched the ‘aam aadmi’ for ‘khaas aadmi’. I appeal to all of you to make the signature campaign against inflation and our programme to gherao Parliament on April 21 a success”. Ananth also attacked the Centre for refusing to extend the industrial package given to Uttarakhand till March 31, 2010. He demanded that the package be extended till 2020 and promised that the entire BJP leadership in Parliament from across the country would raise this issue. He said the BJP was all set to launch a movement against inflation on the lines of Jai Prakash Narayan’s movement against corruption in the 1970s and Ram Janmabhoomi movement of Hindutva forces. Former Union minister Vijay Goel accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre of trying to divert the attention of the masses away from the issue of inflation by raking up issues like Telengana and by taking up the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament which he said was supported by his party. He demanded that the Public Distribution System be revamped and farm implements and fertilisers along with other inputs be provided to farmers at a cheaper price. Former Chief Minister Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd) recalled that the Congress had had a history of going back on poll promises and held corruption in the government responsible for the price rise. He asked, “Why is it that despite having a record of going back on its poll promises, the Congress still manages to win elections? This is something we need to look into”. Another former Chief Minister and present Rajya Sabha member Bhagat Singh Koshiyari attacked Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for inflation. Reacting to various claims made by Pawar, he said, “If everything is fine and under control, then why do farmers continue to commit suicides?” Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank charged the Centre for making things difficult for states like Uttarakhand. He also attacked the Centre on the issue of not extending the industrial package for the state and said if the package was not extended by March 25, people of the state would hold protests in Delhi. He also attacked the Congress leadership in the state for not letting the state Assembly function. He once again dismissed the corruption charges levelled by the Congress with regards to distribution of power projects and said everything was done in a transparent manner. He said, “The Congress doesn’t want Uttarakhand to develop”. He said the BJP government in the state had made tremendous achievements with regards to good governance and fiscal management. Talking about the industrial development, he said the government had asked Tata not to take Nano anywhere else, but let its production carry on at its place of birth. He said with automobiles like Hero Honda, Bajaj and Ashok Leyland present in the state, Uttarakhand was all to set to become an automobile hub. Sidelights Former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was in full spirits on his home turf of Kumaon and played to the gallery in full form. His address was accompanied by energetic gestures of hands and people were regaled with his one liners. At one point he was peeved with a party contingent from Udhamsingh Nagar that was raising slogans while his address was on. He snubbed them by saying, “People from Udhamsingh Nagar should stop ‘udham’ (notoriety). They can make ‘udham’ when they get to face Congressmen. He then went on to equate agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s claims regarding inflation with the Hindi saying “Saawan ke andhe ko hara hi dikhta hai” (a man who goes blind in the rainy season sees everything green). If Koshiyari was in full spirits, another former Chief Minister Major-Gen BC Khanduri was also in form and his address was very well received by the participants. People were in full agreement with him when he said, “We should try to understand where we fail to communicate with the masses and the Congress with its history of going back on poll promises still manages to win elections”. The addresses of the BJP leadership were replete with light jokes. Koshiyari began the series with a joke that two women in Delhi went to the police station with a robbery complaint, but the police officials were surprised when they answered in the negative when asked whether they had been robbed of their purses or jewellery. The women instead said, “We have been robbed of 2 kg of potatoes that we had bought and in these times of inflation they are very precious”. This joke was followed up by one from Vijay Goes who said a farmer was disillusioned when his wife refused to cook the fish that he had caught from a pond on the grounds that she did not have resources like cooking oil, salt and chillies to cook it. Left with no option, he threw the fish back into the pond. On hitting the water the amphibian jumbed up and said, “Congress zindabad”. After the common man even the BJP cadres seem to have got bored of the same speeches rendered by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank at various programmes. Even before he started speaking, cadres were seen nudging each other, “He will now talk of paani and jawani (outflow of water and youth)”. And this was what happened. Some of the youngsters along with the mediapersons were even prompting what he was about to speak like his reference to Uttarakhand’s forest cover and Uttarakhand providing oxygen to the country. A few of the women participants even dozed off as he spoke.
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Potable water crisis acute in hills, says Maharaj
Dehradun, March 14 Talking to mediapersons here today, Maharaj said the problem of potable water had became acute in the hills as most of the water resources had dried up. He cautioned that the situation would be acute in the coming summer
months. Maharaj said most of the water pumping schemes had not been started by the state government. He charged that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Haridwar in October, 2006, had given Rs 100 crore for five water pumping schemes in the hills, but none of these could be started even after three-and-a-half years. He said the situation had become precarious as people in villages were agitated. On his meetings with Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and state Governor Margaret Alva yesterday, Maharaj said he told both of them about the ground realities and the urgent need to start these water pumping schemes on a war footing. He advised the state government to take out these pumping schemes from SWAP schemes. He also told the Chief Minister that most of the construction works undertaken by the Public Works Department
(PWD) had been stopped due to non-payment to contractors by the department. He told the Governor to intervene in the matter to get the money released for the construction of the important roads and bridges in the state. Complimenting the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government for giving one-rank-one-pension to ex-servicemen, Maharaj said lakhs of them hailing from Uttarakhand would also be benefited by the decision. He also released a letter written by Defence Minister AK Antony about the opening of a temporary recruitment centre at
Srinagar, Garhwal, for naval recruitment subject to fulfilment of the conditions by the state government.
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Verification of outside labourers conducted
Dehradun, March 14 The police said in total, a verification of 1,248 labourers was done and the details of it would be sent to the jail authorities to check whether anyone of them had a criminal background. The police force led by Jagatram Joshi, Superintendent of Police, and Ajay Singh, Circle Officer, conducted the verification drive. It was conducted in various places, including Mandis, Rispana bridge, Clock Tower and Lal Bridge. This drive is being conducted in view of the several crime incidents which brought to light that vegetable/fruit vendors and other small-time traders who came from outside here were involved in crime.
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Statehood activists face identity crisis, blame govts
Dehradun, March 14 Hundreds of the statehood activists and their family members from different districts of the state had come to the convention. The activists in their respective addresses lamented that none of the ruling governments had bothered to identify the statehood activists despite being issuing several drafts to them. The activists pointed out that the forest, water and land of the state was being sold, which had affected it adversely. Besides this, they also said the state had seen five Chief Ministers in the past nine years after it was founded, but none of them could identify the statehood activists. Jagmohan Khati, an activist, said the state had the best natural environment in the country and it was people of the state that would make the state known in the entire country with their hard work. An emotional Vijaylakshmi Gosain exhorted women of the state to come forward for the cause of the state. She said women were happy that the proposal of 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament had passed in the Rajya Sabha, but it would be of help only when the fairer sex would come out of their homes, otherwise the non-deserving would rule the state and the country. Dinesh Aggarwal, MLA, Lakshman Jhulla, Sushila Baloni, vice-chairperson, women commission, Pradeep Dobral, president, Teachers’ Association, Kashi Singh, former vice-president, Hiltron, Usha Negi, former vice-president, Rajya Andolankari Association, Dhirender Pratap and Ravinder, former members of the association, also spoke. The activists said after the convention they would submit a draft mentioning the names of statehood activists toNishank. It was also demanded that rather than making a Parishad of statehood activists, a commission be made so that it could take its own decisions and not be dependent upon DMs or ADMs.
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Tiger count at Corbett
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Dehradun, March 14 “As many as 200 park officials are involved in this exercise,” said UC Tiwari, Park Warden, Corbett. The new census will be of a great help in revealing the true The census also assumes significance as it comes at a time when there have frequent tiger deaths in the state in the backdrop of territorial struggle within tigers. The second All-India Tiger Census exercise that began recently has already covered some of the states and is already mid-way in the exercise. The census figures are likely to be out by November. Interestingly, apart from Corbett officials, a nine-member team of the Wildlife Institute of India are also camping to monitor the census. Earlier, Ranjan Mishra, Director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), said the tiger census would put a more accurate picture of strength of tigers in Corbett. He held that the tigers habitat, prey and other information would be collected during the census. Mishra also said the CTR had put a proposal to the government for the formation of a special Tiger Protection Force for Corbett apart from sending a proposal to the government for online reservation arrangements for tourists. |
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Consumers ignorant about rights
Dehradun, March 14 In Uttar Pradesh and other states, the Food and Civil Supplies Department and Consumer Affairs Department existed together, therefore dissemination of consumer rights was also done at the level of the government, but in Uttarakhand it is not the case. At the Dehradun District Consumer Forum, a majority of the complains are lodged pertaining to credit card and bank payments and insurance claims. But of late, complaints regarding medical negligence too are coming up in large numbers. A few weeks back a case of medical negligence against a doctor of a prominent private nursing home, who was held responsible for the death of a girl, had put the medical fraternity on the defensive. The girl, it was alleged, was given a wrong injection. Then, a few months back at the District Women’s Hospital, a family had charged the government doctors for the death of their newborn child. In both cases no action was taken against the doctors and within days the noise and fury too died down. Both incidents threw a host of issues concerning the conduct of doctors and whether the consumer laws could be of help to the aggrieved persons. Though the District Consumer Cell in Dehradun has from time to time tried to settle such cases, the biggest stumbling block continues to be the issue of proving charges. The law, of course, has provisions to counter cases of negligence or non-assistance by doctors and hospitals and ensures patients their rights while availing of medical services. The preferred legislation in this regard is the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), which classifies paid medical assistance provided by the Indian medical institutions as a “service”, on a par with any other service availed by citizens in the consumer market. “Under the CPA, patients can claim compensation by proving gross negligence in the provision of paid medical services,” says SK Kulshrestha, president,Doon Consumer Action and Protection Society. “By placing the issue under the CPA, the law ensures that patients, who have complaints regarding services received at hospitals, have a forum they can approach with their grievances, instead of going through the lengthy procedures of the civil court system,” he adds. However, only those medical services which have been paid for come under the jurisdiction of the CPA. “It leaves out healthcare centres providing free services. So if a patient faces negligence at a free healthcare centre, there’s no way he or she can take the case to a consumer court,” points out RK Sharma, president, District Consumer Forum, Dehradun. Holding doctors accountable under the CPA, argues Dr SD Joshi, president, Provincial Medical and Health Services Association, to be on the safer side the doctor can go for tests that may not be necessary. After all, no doctor will then want to take a chance with his diagnosis, even if that means undue expenses on the patient’s part. The latest ruling of the Supreme Court too has come to the rescue of the doctors working in government hospitals. Under RK Sharma, since he took over in 2007, there were a total of 880 cases pending, now the number has drastically come down to 297 pending cases in the district. “In Dehradun, in the past couple of years, cases pertaining to non-affiliating institutes have been cropping up from time to time,” said Sharma. Similarly the department’s reluctance to advertise about consumer redressal cells too is proving a hindrance to the consumer movement. “Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has a permanent grievance cell, but it is not properly notified. So, most people do not know about its existence. The authorities do not display it on the bill,” said SC Nautiyal, an aggrieved citizen. Make consumers aware of rights: CM
On the occasion of the World Consumer Day tomorrow, Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank appealed to consumers to be vigilant about their rights. He called upon the non-government organisations (NGOs) to launch campaigns for generating awareness about consumer rights and redressal system. |
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Forum members’ posts vacant in 4 districts
Dehradun, March 14 “In Rudraprayag, a male member has to be appointed, while in other districts female members have to appointed, but it is in no way affecting the functioning of forums,” said Justice Irshad Hussain, president, State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission. As per norms, the quorum can only be achieved if, at least, two members are present during the hearing of complaints at the District Forum. Problems arise when one member takes leave or is absent, which happens far too often. The forum is headed by the president and one male and female member. Similar arrangement exists in Nainital, Haridwar and Dehradun, where there are two members in addition to the president, who heads the forum. According to sources, the inherent hesitancy and reluctance shown by the government in making important appointments has more to do with politics. The posts carry a lot of weight though the minimum qualification is graduation and there are several aspirants for the same. The total number of complaints filed between April 2002 and November 2008 at the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission are 3,754. Of these 2,877 have been disposed of and altogether 877 cases are pending. |
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NGO creates awareness about blood donation
Dehradun, March 14 However, the main highlights of the function were quiz, poster and mehndi competitions and a marathon in which more than 150 participants in the age group of six to 65 years participated. A singing practice session of the Uttarakhand Singing Talent Show was also organised on the occasion. General secretary Rajiv Johari said they were encouraging singing talents of Uttarakhand and very soon they would show their talent in the mega show. Managing Director of the IMA Colonel Arora was the chief guest on the occasion, who distributed the prizes to the winners of the competition. Patron of Talent Enablers DS Jauhari and Indu gave the mementos to the judges. |
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Rath residents’ problems discussed
Dehradun, March 14 The speakers at the meeting discussed giving a memorandum regarding their problems to the government through a representative and commence a free-of-cost health camp at Rath on a large scale. VK Pant, Maheshanand Bankhwal and Dr JP Semwal were appointed members of the advising committee, while Nandram Mamgai was designated adviser of the association. Association president Dr RK Pant, senior vice-president Shekharanand Raturi, vice-presidents Manwar Singh Rawat and Rakesh Bhatt, general secretary Kulanand Ghanshala, joint secretaries Matbar Singh Kandari and Sukhdev Prasad Raturi, Purushuttam Mamgai and association secretaries Ram Prakash Khakriyal, were present at the meeting. |
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Protest against ‘misbehaviour’ to social worker
Dehradun, March 14 Being a holiday, the DM was not in the office and workers pasted the memorandum outside his office wall. They might meet the DM later on Monday. The sangthan was supported by about 10 other associations. The workers alleged that the court had granted bail to Chanderkala Tiwari, but when Thapa went to get him released on bail, the police unnecessarily made him wait and harassed him. The workers said it was unconstitutional to harass someone after the High Court had given its verdict to grant bail. They demanded that action against the cops who had allegedly harassed Thapa who is agitationist of Uttarakhand and has spent his entire life in the service of the state. |
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Sparsh Ganga II launch on March 20
Nainital, March 14 This was stated by Chief Development Officer Pankaj Kumar Pandey here on Friday. Pandey said the drive to clean the water bodies would be taken up at the panchayat level and every block would be given a financial aid of Rs 15,000 for the purpose. This money would be sent on clearing garbage from the water bodies, purchase of gloves, brooms, etc, besides providing refreshments to the volunteers.
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Former Union Minister and Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has charged the state Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP) government of ignoring the gigantic problem of drinking water in hilly areas of the state.
two-day state-level convention at the Town Hall of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation here today.Hundreds of the statehood activists and their family members from different districts of the state had come to the convention. The activists in their respective addresses lamented that none of the ruling governments had bothered to identify the statehood activists despite being issuing several drafts to them.
