Dehradun, August 28
A dharna was held by former minister and senior Congress leader Hira Singh Bisht, along with Congress councillors, to protest against the alleged failure of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) and the state government in dealing with the dismal sanitation condition, increasing incidences of encroachments and shortage of staff. The party slammed them on numerous fronts.

Bisht said the city was replete with shortage of nullahs, proper trenching ground, parking arrangements and drinking water. “Encroachers are defacing the city. Ego clashes between the MNA and the Mayor are also responsible for the destruction of the city. The city is not able to benefit from the thousands of crore rupees approved by the Centre under the Jawarharlal Nehru National Renewable Urban Mission (JNNRUM). Similarly, 150 buses which used to ply between Dehradun and Haridwar are parked in Haridwar for the past one year," he said.

Bisht also demanded an inquiry into the purchase of low-quality timers worth Rs 37 lakh by the DMC from the Power Corporation which did not function properly. The developmental work such as repair of roads, nullahs and houses were not taking place as tenders for these had not been cleared till date, he added.

Ashok Kumar, leader of the opposition of the DMC, said it was high time that slum colonies should be given ownership rights.

"The DMC has been unable to do justice with slum dwellers because under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojna, created to benefit slum dewellers. The DMC wasted crores of funds which are approved under this scheme," he said.

He also indicated towards alleged hobnobbing of DMC officials in the fraudulent business of widespread adulteration in eatables, milk and liquids.

He said by not holding elections of the Deputy Mayor and vice-presidents of local bodies, the DMC was behaving fascist.

Pradeep Kukreti, another senior Congress leader, said, "The DMC and the state government can easily deal with the shortage of employees, sanitation workers and officials in the DMC by filling up these long-pending vacanices, but they are not doing so.

They could have changed the face of the city by utilising crores of funds approved by the Central government, but due to lack of will power and planning on their part, all plans in this direction have fizzled out".

The Congress leaders warned that if the state government and the Dehradun Municipal Corporation did not take any steps to solve these problems rapidly, they would stage statewide demonstration and protests against them.

Nainital, August 28
Playing up the controversy over Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi sharing the dais with a Maoist leader at a rally in Orissa, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari has attacked the Congress for indulging in double-faced politics.

Speaking to mediapersons here today, Koshiyari said the Centre must ensure that such events did not take place. “When it comes to supporting an ally against the West Bengal government, they even close their eyes to the Maoists and on the other hand claim to be taking strong measures against the very same Maoists. This is the double face of the Congress. It is the kind of politics it has been indulged in since Independence,” he said. Koshiyari was in Nainital to pay condolences at the demise of eminent poet Girish Tiwari, who is better known as Girda, and veteran socialist Pratap Bhaiyya.

At the same time, the Rajya Sabha member from the state demanded that the Centre take stern action against the Maoists and deal with them with an iron hand. Praising former Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) KPS Gill for tackling militancy in the state of Punjab, he said a strategy similar to that of Gill was required to deal with the Maoists.

When asked about the recent losses recorded in the region on account of the heavy rains and floods, Kosiyari sought that the Centre send across a high-level team to evaluate the losses and provide whatever assistance was required by the state.

He said on account of the fragile geology of the region, several villages need to be relocated and this was not an easy task that could be done without assistance from the Centre.

Responding to a query on the controversy over the issue of hydel power projects that had stemmed from the decision to close the Loharinag Pala project on the Ganga, Koshiyari said development needed to come along with simultaneous conservation of the environment. Neither of the two could be ignored, he added. He also said the conservation of the Ganga was also a question of faith and its uninterrupted flow must be maintained.

Dehradun, August 28
Members of the Mahanagar Congress Committee today submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate and apprised him of the problems faced by residents of the city.

Harish Virmani, city president of the committee, said due to the incessant rain people had to face lots of problems like disaster management.

He said all roads had been damaged and water had collected at many places due to which many infectious diseases like swine flu, dengue, malaria etc had taken people in their grip. He urged the DM to investigate the matter of the distribution of rotten wheat and the dilapidated buildings.

Dehradun, August 28
Governor Margaret Alva today paid tributes to Mother Teresa on the occasion of her birth centenary celebrations organised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), along with Caritas India, Catholic Relief Services of India (CRS) and Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSSS), in Delhi, according to a press statement issued from the Raj Bhawan here.

Speaking as a guest of honour at a function organised on the second day of the two-day event held at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Alva recollected her numerous interactions with the loving and caring saintly Albanian-turned-Indian nun “who brought love to the selfish, uncaring world”.

“I feel privileged to have known Mother Teresa for more than 30 years. Each meeting was an unforgettable encounter with a woman of God in love with humanity. Her soft voice, her gentle touch, warm smile and words of affection touched my soul,” said Alva.

“A petite woman, who became a towering personality, a soft-spoken and gentle being whose voice echoed in the far corners of the earth; an Albanian turned Indian, who became a citizen of the world; a poor and penniless nun who became the hope and succour of the homeless, the neglected and the rejected; a frail and often sick care giver, whose hands embraced, cleansed and healed the pain of the wounded and the dying, and in death hailed and acknowledged by humanity as the saint who brought love to a selfish, uncaring world; that was Mother Teresa,” Alva said.

She said Mother Teresa’s life of sacrifice and service was a beacon light to a world destroying itself with selfishness, greed and violence. “Her message of love and forgiveness was a call to sanity for a nation torn by caste divisions, communal hatred and human exploitation. And to me, she was and will always remain an inspiration and an example of a true Christian,” she said.

Reading out Mother Teresa’s favourite prayer “Lord, make an instrument of your peace”, Alva said the inspirational lines of this prayer truly portrayed her life and work.

Dehradun, August 28
Several names of influential people of the city are likely to be unearthed with last night’s arrest of four criminals of Uttar Pradesh, who allegedly had come to Dehradun for property dealing, betting and extortion.

They were arrested on a tip-off from the Clock Tower here.

Police sources said the arrested criminals had revealed the names of big officers and white-collared officials of the ONGC for their involvement in the crime. Several more anti-social activities and nexus of these criminals being run in the city would come to the light, said the police.

Four alleged criminals, Upender Sirhoi, Susheel Chaudhary, Amardeep Robi and Jagan Chaudhary, were arrested, along with their driver Daboo, at about 10 pm yesterday. All four hail from the western region of UP.

Upender is booked in 67 cases of murder, loot and extortion in UP and Uttarakhand, while the rest of the accused are also booked in over 12 criminal cases.

The cops recovered one China-made and three country-made pistols from their possession last night. The four were confronted by the police at the Clock Tower after it received information of their arrival.

In an attempt to run away while taking a back turn, they banged the rear of their Honda City car (HR-34-H-4882) to a shutter and the two-wheelers parked at the Clock Tower. At this point, the police overpowered them and nabbed them.

The Haryana police is also coming to Dehradun with regard to their arrest since criminal cases have been registered against them in Haryana as well.

The police said they were interrogating the four accused to further find out about more persons involved with them.

Dehradun, August 28
Afflicted with life-threatening HIV/AIDS and subjected to maltreatment, erosion of rights and psychological damage, eight-month pregnant Savita’s (name changed) ordeal is expected to end with the small community of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) and their organisation in Dehradun lending support to her.

The mentally broken 27-year-old pregnant Savita, despite registering for ART treatment, did not attend a single session and is now being counselled by the PLHA to take the CD-4 count tests and attend counselling sessions.

Stepping in, the local coordinator of the PLHA is keen that the protocol is followed, so that she has a safe delivery and a healthy child. “We have already held discussions with the authorities of District Women’s Hospital and we will ensure that she is not discriminated against. Besides, discussions will also be held with her in-laws based in Nahan. In case they are not ready for reconciliation, we will ensure that the property and other rights of the affected are protected,” said the local coordinator on condition of anonymity.

In August, Savita was left to fend for herself at the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) Jolly Grant by her in-laws who did not want to be burdened with an HIV patient. She is suspected to have contracted HIV from her husband, a truck driver who died a month back.

“Women and girls afflicted with HIV/AIDS have very little support system in Uttarakhand and this was acutely felt by Savita of Jassowala village (near Sahaspur) as she was abandoned by her in-laws at the Jolly Grant Hospital. The way the virus is spreading in semi-urban towns, we need to set up more community care centres,” said Lawrence Singh, Project Coordinator, Agnes Kunz Society.

Despite spending crores on publicity activities, the State AIDS Control Society (SACS) has failed to focus on opening more Community Care Centres (CCCs) and Drop-in Centres (DICs) and then extensively publicise these for the benefit of afflicted persons. Absence of any community help forced the woman to lodge complaint with the police. The society is yet to promote an income generation scheme for the PLHAs.

Women and girl children, apart from being more vulnerable to HIV infection, have to bear an additional burden when someone in the family is infected with the disease. It is the woman who is more likely to be discriminated against and the girl child is more likely to be withdrawn from school to cope with household chores, including caring for the ill.

“The man is someone who can walk away without feeling an iota of guilt and will never be held responsible for infecting his wife and child to be,” said Dr Deepa Sharma, Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) District Women’s Hospital.

Dehradun, August 28
To express shock at the non-implementation of the revival pay scale in Jharkhand, Manipur and Mizoram, the Federation of Uttaranchal University College Teachers’ Association (FUUCTA) under the aegis of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the All-India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (AIFUCTO), held a meeting at Mashi Dhiyan Kendra of Kothal Gaon, Dehradun. Prof James William, President, AIFUCTO, presided over the meeting.

Prof Ashok Barman, general secretary, presented the recent Bills introduced in Parliament and changes in the higher education system and urged the members to rise to the occasion and prepare themselves for the larger movement.

While addressing the gathering, Prof KK Theckkedath, former president, AIFUCTO, urged the organisation to fight against price rise, new pension scheme etc.

The state organisation office-bearers who are members of the NEC, AIFUCTO, from all states throughout India, participated and spoke about the developments in higher education in their respective states.

The members also spoke about the status of pay revision in their states, recent release of regulations and in one voice urged the Central government to implement the pay revision as a single, total package, including pay, allowances age of retirement, etc. 

Dehradun, August 28
Presenting an ode to saawan, Singarmani Kumar Gaurav Sharma’s creativity found expression as he presented a scintillating dance performance at the Town Hall here today.

Beginning his performance with invocations to Goddess Durga, Singarmani at once transformed the atmosphere into one of religiosity and piety.

This was followed by traditional kathak dance comprising Upaj, Thaat and Parmelu, followed by a Radha-Krishan duet and a dance dedicated to Lord Shiva.

He was accompanied by Bharat Kumar Mishra on the tabla and vocals by Ramindari Mandarwal, Bansuri Sanjay and Pakhwaj Raminder Mishra.

The performance was attended by chief guest of State Women’s Commission Sushila Baluni, Dr Meenakshi Pandey and others.

Gaurav has also performed at the cultural festival held at Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela and Virasat in Dehradun.