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Rain
continues to pour misery on U’khand
Pilgrims wade through a street in Haridwar on Wednesday. |
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Students
oppose CM’s decision to set up varsity at Tehri U’khand
open varsity ties up with Tata Motors
Grieving relatives at the mudslide site in Mussoorie on Wednesday. BHEL
holds health camp Heavy
flow in Kumaon rivers
Komal and Deep Vohra of Urvashi Creations address a press conference in Dehradun on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph
Girls sign a memorandum against commercialisation of studies at MKP College in Dehradun on Wednesday.
A Tribune photograph
Alva,
Khanduri express grief Carman
School beat GRD Niranjanpur Modern
School defeat Pestle Weed
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Rain continues to pour misery on U’khand
Dehradun, August 18 Adding to this list of unfortunate incidents, today, a single-storey school building in Bageshwar collapsed. Scores of children are reported to be stuck in the debris. The school in Sumgarh in Kapkot block is 40-45 km from the district headquarters in Bageshwar. Significantly, while the first rescue team managed to reach the school in the interior of Bageshwar, the second team, which had come equipped with better equipment and had some senior district administration officials has its members, got stuck 7 km from the site due to landslides.
The Bageshwar school collapse incident follows massive landslides on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway in Chamoli district earlier this week. A portion of the highway between Pandukeshwar and Lambagad was also washed away by the rain. The authorities were able to open the highway for smaller vehicles on Tuesday evening. But the roadblock continues for four wheelers as a result of the huge debris at Pagal
nullah.
On the other hand, cracks surfaced in three to four houses in the neighbouring Rudraprayag district today following which the tehsil officials had to rush to the affected site to take stock of the situation. The Rishikesh-Gangotri highway, a key route on Char Dham circuit, yet again experienced blockage with reports of land caving in at Bhatwari. This resulted in the deposition of debris on the alternative road carved out by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The officials of the BRO were at work till late hours today to resume traffic on this road. Similarly, the Rishikesh-Yamunotri road was blocked at Ranachatti due to debris falling on the road. The BRO, working on a war footing, managed to open the road for two wheelers, but there is no movement of heavy vehicles yet. Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC) authorities attribute the rise in landslide incidents in Uttarakhand to excess of rains. Piyush Rautela, Executive Director, DMMC, Uttarakhand, asserted that there has been excess rain this year leading to a rise in landslides. He, however, said that disaster management officials had been quick to respond and had ensured timely arrival of relief and rescue teams. Rahul Jugran, Manager, State Emergency Operation Centre, DMMC, also blamed too much rains for landslides. He added that the district disaster management centre has been working round the clock and the response has been very prompt this year. Meteorological officials in Dehradun have issued a warning for the occurrence of heavy rain in the next 48 hours. "We have issued a warning as there could be heavy rains across the state in the next 48 hours," said Dr Anand Sharma, Executive Director, Dehradun Meteorological Centre. According to Meteorological Centre statistics, from June 1 to August 18, a total of 901.7mm of rain on an average has taken place in the Uttarakhand subdivision. The district of Champawat during this period experienced 1235.6 mm rainfall, the highest in the state, followed by Dehradun that received 1227.3 mm. Nainital district in Kumaon received 1170.3 mm, followed by Uttarkashi 1015.5 mm, Rudraprayag 998.8 mm and Udham Singh Nagar 937.2 mm.
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It’s deja vu in Haridwar Haridwar, August 18 Despite the tall claims by the municipality and the anti-encroachment drive touted by the district administration as the answer to choked drains, blocked sewerage and poor infrastructure have made the city reel under a flood-like situation every time it rains for just a few hours. On July 19, rain had played havoc halting city life, damaging property worth lakhs and killing three people. Ironically, the same places, where the administration had carried out an anti-encroachment drive to prevent water logging, were once again flooded. Chandracharya Chowk (Ranipur Mod), the city’s business hub, was flooded bringing business as well as normal life to a halt. Similarly, Bhagat Singh Chowk, the gateway to the BHEL area, looked almost like a swimming pool with water as deep as 1.5m. Many vehicles got stuck in the water while on-foot commuters remained stranded on both sides for hours after the rain stopped. Similarly, at the traditional part of the city near Har-ki-Pauri, rain water and nullah water flowed through the markets viz Moti Bazar, Upper Bazar, Gau Ghat and Tibetan Market. These are the areas which pilgrims and tourists throng to buy religious items, but today, it bore a deserted look as it was nearly impossible to pass through due to the choked drains and overflowing nullahs. Mudslides were reported at Mayapur area and Tibdi bypass region engulfing many residences and commercial establishments. Jwalpaur, Khanna Nagar, Model Colony, Gobindpuri also witnessed water logging, despite some of these being posh colonies. Due to heavy rain, traffic on the national highway near Motichur got disrupted for two hours as a huge tree fell on the road. A huge traffic jam was reported in the stretch leading to Bhoopatwala. Municipality chairman and Executive Officer BL Arya said that with limited resources, the municipality was trying its level best to keep the situation under control. Sanitation workers and the lone water pump that the municipality possesses are working round the clock to pump out the water. Meanwhile, the second phase of the anti-encroachment drive, which was scheduled to get under way today, did not begin due to the day-long rain. Seeing the tough attitude of the administrative encroachment cell, a majority of the encroachers are dismantling the illegal constructions.
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Students oppose CM’s decision to set up varsity at Tehri Dehradun, August 18 The decision in this regard was taken yesterday during a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary NS Napalchiyal. The new state government-owned varsity will be set up by the name of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay to provide affiliation to about 193 graduate and post-graduate colleges whose affiliation have been withdrawn by Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. While speaking to The Tribune, Devendra Tyagi, general secretary of the Shikshak Sangh, said, "The decision taken by the state government during the Cabinet meeting is not at all students centric. They have announced the setting up of a new varsity just for the heck of doing it, but have not kept the interest of the students in mind". "Dehradun is an educational hub and a majority of the students as well as educational institutions are here. The varsity's main campus is proposed to be set up in Tehri district, which is currently the campus of HNB Garhwal University. But will temporarily function from Dehradun till the campus is handed over for establishing new university. The Cabinet has not taken decision in the students' interest but have drawn for the political welfare," he asserted. HNB Garhwal University de-affiliated many colleges in Uttarakhand after it got upgraded as a centralised varsity in the year 2008. The teachers’ federataion held a meeting on August 5 in Naintal demanding a new state government university in Dehradun along with other better facilities, but nothing has been materialised yet. Devendra Bhasin, Head of Mass Communication Department, DAV, said, "No discrepancies regarding the decision have come to my notice till now. We respect the decision taken by the state government and is appropriate for the students on the state level. There will not be any difference in the working of the university or in its affiliating colleges. It will be similar as before just the name of the varsity has changed for now".
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U’khand open varsity ties up with Tata Motors Haldwani, August 18 Representatives of Tata Motors promised to provide hands-on experience to the students undertaking the six-month course and suggested that courses, which have the potential to directly provide employment, along with academic knowledge, are the need of the institutions across the state. Talking to The Tribune, Registrar RC Mishra said, “This is just a beginning. Several other such tie-ups with the industry are in the pipeline as we want to address the prevailing unemployment scenario in the region and help our students get employment as soon as they complete the courses for which they have enrolled”. The university authorities are laying emphasis on making their courses job-oriented or entrepreneurial in their content so that the students are able to earn their living after passing out from the university. The university aims to offer courses that are vocational in nature and are linked to the existing wealth of natural resources in the state. It is in the process of offering professional courses for the students in the field of forestry, floriculture, horticulture, food processing and tourism. These courses will have an entrepreneurial aspect that will help the students start off their own ventures. The university authorities claim that they has identified close to 150 colleges and other educational institutions to open its study centres. The university is aiming to cover the remotest part of the state to take education to the doorsteps of people, particularly those residing in the remote and rural parts.
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Two buildings collapse in Mussoorie Mussoorie, August 18 According to family members, overnight rain had weakened the walls. Debris from a landslip caused the building to collapse. The family members immediately rescued the children, but Santo Devi, who had escaped unhurt, re-entered the house to fetch her slippers. The sidewalls fell on Santo Devi and she died on the spot. Fire officials and the police immediately rushed to the site and recovered the body. According to Matadin, Mussoorie Nayab Tehsildar, a report is being prepared that would be sent to the DM, Dehradun, today. Meanwhile, interim compensation of Rs 2,000 was provided to the kin of the deceased on the spot. In a separate incident, a two-storey building at Kulri Bazar here caved in due to incessant rain today. No casualties were reported. The residential building called Bhakti Bhawan, located near Picture Palace, had developed huge cracks and caved in at several places. According to Sunil Sonkar, the owner’s son, they were working at their premises when the outer part of the building caved in due to sinking of the base of the building. He alleged that the situation had occurred due to the nonchalant attitude of the MDDA which had been informed earlier, but did not give permission to renovate their sidewalls on time. He said the authority was adopting delaying tactics due to the rampant corruption prevalent in the department.
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BHEL holds health camp
Haridwar, August 18 BHEL Hospital doctors helped in the camp which was organised by BHEL Medical Chief Dr NC Aggarwal, Dr IM Singhal, Dr Sarita Gupta and Dr Sangeeta Singhal. In total, 50 women employees underwent the bone-mass density test. Inaugurating the camp, BHEL women club member Vandana Modi said in the changing time the roles of women were also changing with women coming out of their household to earn for livelihood. WIPS, Ranipur Chapter, president Geeta Bhatnagar, Manju Azad, Sashi Singh and Neelu Garg also contributed in the event.
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Heavy flow in Kumaon rivers Nainital, August 18 Several low-lying areas and some arterial roads were inundated, making lives of residents miserable. Several areas faced drinking water problem as water treatment plants were shut temporarily on account of the heavy silt in the rivers and streams. A college girl died when she fell into a canal and got drowned. Nineteen-year-old Lovely Bisht was a student of the local MB College and was returning home on Tuesday evening on her bicycle when she reportedly fell into the gushing waters of the canal. Her body was found in the Prempur Loshgyani area late in the evening. This is the second death on account of people falling into the canal in the past fortnight. The
roads adjoining the canals are badly damaged and the boundary walls are broken at several places. In Kashipur, several localities experienced waterlogging on account of the heavy rain. Water entered several houses and business establishments in the town because of poor drainage infrastructure. Locals have informed that the water level in the Dhela river is constantly rising and the river has also washed away large tracts of lands from several villages on its banks. Almost all rivers and streams in the region are witnessing a heavy flow. At several low-lying areas, particularly in Udham Singh Nagar, people have been relocated to safer areas.
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Designer collection for all Dehradun, August 18 The collection is made to attract middle-class people at an affordable price. Models from Dehradun and Delhi will walk on the ramp donning the stylish yet reasonable priced suits. While addressing mediapersons, Vohra said, “We have categorised the entire new collection of women clothing into the series of eight sequences which include khadi clothes with fine hand-made embroideries, heavy designer suits, kurti special, chanderi suit collection, cotton suits, heavy sarees from Kamini Sarees and Hudia Fit. Special collection of white cotton suits will be displayed to celebrate the Independence Day on the ramp”.
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Commercialisation of Education Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 18 Pooja, one of the students at MKP, said, "This campaign is just a small gesture of showing resentment to the government against the commercialisation of education. We want to convey the administration that we are aware of such activities and won't let it rise in the future".
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Alva, Khanduri express grief Dehradun, August 18 Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri also offered his condolences on the death of the school students. He asked the state government to provide all relief to the families of the deceased. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Harak Singh Rawat also expressed grief at the incident and demanded the payment of Rs 2 lakh as immediate relief to the affected families.
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Carman School beat GRD Niranjanpur Dehradun, August 18 Sangam, Pritam, Hridaya and Pritam Negi of Carman School netted a goal each to help their side win the match. While Gautam and Anurag scored a goal each for GRD. However, their efforts went in vain as the team lagged behind by two goals. In another match, Children Academy battled it out hard to get past Carman School, Premnagar 2-1. Shashank (22nd minute) of Carman got the first success for his side. The goal was soon retaliated by rival team's Vinzing (25th). After locking at 1-1 at the end of the first half the excitement increased with both sides putting up good competition. However, Tapan of Carman managed to get a goal in the final minutes of the game.
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Modern School defeat Pestle Weed Dehradun, August 18 While in the boys' u-19 match, YPS, Patiala, got past Modern School, Delhi. In the girls’ matches, Welham Girls School beat DIG in the u-17 and Welham also beat Mayo College in the u-14.
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Two
buildings collapse in Mussoorie
Designer
collection for all
Commercialisation
of Education
