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Munsiyari landslide-hit have no place to settle
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Pharmacists’ Strike
Patients in a queue to get medicines at the Doon
Hospital on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
Progress made on slum colony projects
Residents face shortage of LPG
Cong holds protest
DM inaugurates SMS for BPL, APL card holders
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Munsiyari landslide-hit have no place to settle
Pitthoragarh, October 5 “We do not have any community land in entire Munsiyari subdivision to accommodate these villagers. We can not at the movement give them government land to settle temporarily or permanently but we can not allow them to go in Qurie village as next year they will have to face the same nature fury,” said JS Rathor, SDM, Munsiyari. “After the landslide last month in Qurie-Jimia, the government geologists have declared that the village is not worth settlement geologically as it has been formed on a slide dump 200 years ago and has no solid rocks beneath it,” said Devendra Deva, Gram Pardhan of Qurie-Jimia. “After the district administration and the Uttarakhand Chief Minister instructed the officials concerned to settle us at any safe land, we, nearly 180 persons with their herds of more than 200 cattle, shifted at 7-acre land at the Balati farm, near Munsiyari town, finding it safe. But, within 24 hours of erection of our tents, the forest people came and threatened us to leave the place otherwise they would forcefully evicts us as that land belonged to reserve forest area,” said the Gram Pradhan, adding that despite the forest notices they are compelled to live there as they have no other land to settle even temporarily. According to the Pitthoragarh district administration, the villagers have been advised to settle in the ground of a primary school but instead to live there, they shifted 22 km ahead near Munsiyari on a reserved forest plot which can not be given to them. “We have sent a proposal to the government for their rehabilitation near their village,” said NS Negi, District Magistrate, Pitthoragarh. But, even other villages near Qurie-Jimia do not want to help these neighbours in a time of crisis. “We tried to settle them in some community plots in Sarmoli village near Qurie-Jimia but the villagers of Sarmoli refused to welcome them,” said JS Rathor, SDM, Munsiyari. According to the Forest Department, the affected villagers can not be given reserve forest land either for temporary or permanent settlement until the Union Forest Ministry grants allow for the same. “Under rule 26 of the Indian Forest Act-1927, we can not give any reserved forest plot to anyone for non-forest usage,” said DTG Sambandam, DFO, Pitthoragarh. Another crisis comes from looming winter as the place the villagers have been living at in the tents provided by the district administration witnesses 5 ft of snowfall every year. “We told the Forest Department that we should be allowed to set up tin sheds at Balati until the Central government permission comes. But, the Forest Department is adamant to oust us from there and it seems that all of us, including more than 100 children, will have to spend the winter in the open,” said Devendra Deva, adding that his villagers can not leave that forest place whatever the legal action is taken against them.
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Pharmacists’ Strike
Dehradun, October 5 With pharmacists refusing to budge and the Health Department putting pressure on the hospitals to start medicine distribution immediately, the authorities of Doon Hospital, led by CMS Dr RK Pant, Dr Sudhanshu Bahuguan, Director, Doon Group of Hospitals, City Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht and Additional Superintendent Vijay Singh, led by a posse of policemen, broke open the doors of the medicine store and took positions inside the store. The first defence was broken. Soon pharmacist interns took their positions inside the counters, ably assisted by senior physician Dr KC Pant, who began inventory of medicines and injections. Soon eager patients, who underwent inconvenience yesterday, began swarming at the counter and within no time the size of queues began to increase. “We had asked the pharmacists to postpone their indefinite stir till October 6, so that talks could be held, but it did not yield any outcome,” said Dr HC Bhatt, DG, Health. Resenting the Health Department’s move, the members of the Diploma Pharmacist Association said the government’s carrot-and-stick policy would not yield any results. “They kept us engaged in talks in the morning and on the sly used police force to open the stores. We have been cooperating with the government from the very beginning, but umpteen round of meetings with the DG, Health, and government representatives have been disappointing. They are not willing to commit themselves to an agreement nor give us in writing that our demands will be met. The interns are not qualified enough to distribute medicines. The responsibility is solely theirs if any untoward incident takes place,” said BS Payal, president (State), Diploma Pharmacist Association, Uttarakhand. The members also raised slogans against the medical officers as the members of Provincial Medical and Health Service had already extended support to the stir. By setting into process an alternative arrangement at the District Doon Hospital, the Health Department is hoping that eventually similar steps will be taken at other hospitals in the state, giving it a psychological benefit. In all 150 pharmacists are on strike in Dehradun and a total of 1,500 in the state.
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Heritage building of British era gutted in Nainital
Nainital, October 5 It was the people residing in the neighbourhood who saw smoke coming out of the roof of the building that housed the District Magistrate’s office. The fire brigade was informed immediately and fire fighting efforts were started soon. A large number of local people rushed to the spot to help. Senior functionaries of the district, including Kumaon Commissioner Kunal Sharma, District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli, Inspector General of Police (Kumaon Range) RS Meena and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) MS Bangyal supervised the efforts. It took about seven hours to douse the fire. Bagauli has stated that at least 50 per cent of the record has been destroyed. These included some important documents of the British era. He said the Collectorate Office would start functioning in a normal manner from Wednesday morning in the rooms that have survived the fire. Eyewitnesses say that the fire started from the first floor of the building and later spread downwards. At least a dozen offices in the building, including the District Magistrate’s office, have been burnt to cinders. Two fire tenders from Nainital and one from Ramnagar controlled the fire. Two water tenders of the Water Supplies Department were also pressed into service. The building was constructed in 1898 after Nainital was made a new district carved out of Almora. The building was granted a heritage status in 2005 by the government led by Narayan Dutt Tiwari. The restoration works are learnt to have been entrusted to the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Plans to the tune of more than Rs 2 crore had been drawn out for its restoration. The building had a place of pride in the hearts of the local population and people have expressed dismay over its burning down. It was known for its unique architecture and its structure still stood firm despite the fire.
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Progress made on slum colony projects
Dehradun, October 5 The Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) is awaiting the release of funds to move on with the construction of the houses under these projects. There are eight such projects worth Rs 5,957.22 lakh for the construction of 1,314 buildings for slum dwellers, out of which an amount of Rs 855.17 lakh has been released till date. In the case of Ram Mandir Kusht Ashram, involving the construction of 27 houses costing Rs 163.64 lakh, the first instalment of Rs 34.95 lakh has been released, but the Centre is yet to release the second instalment though the Municipal Corporation has claimed to have spent Rs 50 lakh on this project. Similarly, for Rs 137.20 lakh project of Shanti Kusht Ashram, the corporation went overboard in spending Rs 45 lakh against the allocated Rs 34.30 lakh for the first instalment in construction of 28 houses. For the Rs 163.34-lakh Rotary Kusht Ashram project where the DMC is to build 34 houses, work came to a halt after the first instalment of Rs 36.23 lakh was used in the first week of January this year. The amount, which was paid in the first instalment, has been repeated for the second instalments for these projects. The other important development is that funds released for the two projects, Kath Bangla Slum Colony and Khala Basti, which have got stuck in legal wrangles, will now be diverted for the completion of rest of the projects. Vinod Chamoli said, “Kath Bangla Slum Colony, where we were to make 148 houses at a cost of Rs 622.93 lakh, we had received Rs 155.73 lakh as first installment, but the matter got stuck in legal wrangles after the alleged owner of the land claimed his rights over the property. Despite the order on December 18 last year, work has yet not started on the project. The fund was getting wasted. Similarly, for the other project of Khala Basti, where 80 houses for slum dwellers are to be built at a cost of Rs 372.83 lakh, the first instalment of Rs 80 lakh is with us. Unfortunately, this case too hit the road block, given the fights of many claimants over the property who stalled the work by moving the court. Therefore, we have decided to move ahead with the other projects by distributing the fund sanctioned for these two projects to the
rest”.
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Residents face shortage of LPG
Dehradun, October 5 For the past few weeks, residents of the city have been facing this problem. The shortage is being attributed by officials to the backlog of bookings by consumers and its short supply. The number of backlog for most of the agencies has crossed 1,500 and reached around 3,000 or even more. The residents, who could be seen standing in queues outside the agency early in the morning in the hope of getting a cylinder refill, complained that they were not able to get it even after 20-25 days of booking. Sources maintained that due the incessant rains, which damaged most of the roads, about 60 per cent of the trucks carrying cylinders were stuck at various places of the Garhwal region. But now the roads had opened, so the delay was a mystery. “For the past four weeks I have been coming here to get a gas cylinder,
but I have to return emptyhanded even after waiting for hours in long queues as the supply is limited,” said Anand Tripthi, a resident of Race Course. Geetika, a homemaker from Karanpur, complained that it was impossible to book LPG on telephone these days, as dealers had stopped
taking calls of consumers. The manager at Himani Gas Agency claimed that there was an acute shortage of LPG cylinders from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Ditto for MC Joshi, owner of Jagdamba Gas Agency, who reiterated that there was an acute shortage of LPG cylinders at various Indane gas agencies in the district. District Food and Civil Supplies Officer (DSO) MS Bisan said, “Earlier the shortage of gas was due to the Kanwar Mela and now may be because of the recent rains that have blocked all ways. We have written to the IOC regarding the same and hope to get the supply on time in future”. As per information, 38 LPG
agencies are functioning in the city; these include five agencies of Hindustan Petroleum (HP), 29 of Indian Oil Corporation and four of
Bharat Petroleum.
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Mussoorie favourite with writers
Mussoorie, October 5 However, Mussoorie has a glorious past for the writers who have worked from the town and written on various subjects, especially celebrating the landscape and culture of mountains. According to local historian Gopal Bhardwaj, the history of Mussoorie is such that it has always attracted writers to its fold. The first writer to arrive in Mussoorie was Mauger Monk in 1828 and bought the house from Captain Young, the founder of Mussoorie. He has written several books on Mussoorie and the area around. Authors James Skinner, Lady Emily Eden, sister of then Lord of Auckland, JB Frasier, Andrew Wilson and world-famous writer and Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling made Mussoorie their home to pen down classics like “Jungle Book” and “Kim”. Andrew Wilson, John Lang, Shelly Parks, Miss CF Gordon, Julian Rust, Dr Salim Ali, Rahul Sanskratayan, Satyaketu Vidyalankar, Lt Gen GF White, who wrote “Himalayan Mountains” in 1831, Henry Keelen, Sir John Maugin, John Northam, Hawthon Robert and Anita Desai are a few more who have worked from Mussoorie. Kaka Hathrasi has also written several comical satires from the town. Presently the authors who have glorified the town and the mountains are Ruskin Bond, Ganesh Saili, Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi, Bill Aitken, HP Bhatt, Shailesh, Surendar Pundir and Robert Hutchison. They have made Mussoorie their home. Bhardwaj said the festival that the government should have initiated was being done by a school for which they needed to be commended. “Raja of Harsil” written by Robert Hutchison on Pahari Wilson, who resided in Mukhba on the way to Gangotri, Bhardwaj said, “We should take inspiration from such authors who spend their valuable time researching the subject in the Himalayas and record the smallest details of the past so that future generations can savour it till times to come”. Robert Hutchison also presented a copy of “Raja of Harsil” to Bhardwaj for his support during his research period.
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Cong holds protest
Dehradun, October 5 Holding the state government responsible for troubles in the district, the members alleged that it had been three months that the government had discontinued all developmental works in the city citing rains as the major barrier. Talking to mediapersons, Suryakant Dhasmana, a senior Congress leader, said it had been 10 days that rains had said goodbye to the city, but still all major roads here were lying damaged. “Not even a patchwork has been done till now,” he maintained. Dhasmana affirmed that even the Cantonment area was in a bad shape. “Due to the filth all over the city, dengue and malaria are continuously spreading, but the Municipal Corporation is doing nothing,” he said. Dhasmana alleged that a man died and two got burn injuries at the Gandhi Gram due to high-tension wires hanging over residential buildings. “The department has not shifted the high-tension wires that cross over the Gandhi Gram, Prem Nagar, Shivpuri and Gobindgarh till now, despite knowing about the death caused due to it,” he claimed and added that many sewerage lines were also chocked in the city. He mentioned that it had been long that sewerage lines at Karanpur, Old Dalanwala, Subash Road, etc. had not got cleaned. He said due to the overflow at the IMA Lake, water had entered houses located in Prem Nagar and Guru Nanak Enclave. He further stated that the embankment of the river that crossed Prem Nagar was fully damaged and had led to flooding of slums of Prem Nagar causing a lot of damage. He requested the DM to make sure that the work of laying down of water line at Shivpuri was completed on time.
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DM inaugurates SMS for BPL, APL card holders
Dehradun, October 5 With this service Dehradun will become the first district in the state to provide transparency in the delivery of supply of items. The DM said the National Information Science Centre (NISC) would update the data on the information provided by the District Supply Officer and send it via SMS to the gram pradhan in rural areas, the councillor in urban areas and four other members. “There are 950 ration shops in the district and whenever anyone of them picks up an item from the godown, the message will be flashed on the mobile of associated people,” he explained. “District Supply Officer Mahender Singh Visven has been appointed as the nodal officer. He will update officials of the NISC about the delivery of ration to shopkeeper and name of the shop till 5 pm and this will be then delivered further,” he added. DC Thapliyal, Information Science Officer, along with two other, will revise the information in the software and forward it. “The district administration gathered the telephone numbers of people, which were then transformed into the software,” Kurve said. “This will help in preventing black marketing or diversion of items provided by the government on subsidy,” he added.
Officials asked to complete 16
roundabouts
Kurve today asked officials to complete the construction of 16 roundabouts under the JNNURM here. Tthe DM said the ONGC had permitted them to provide 1,800 sq m for the same. The PWD and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited had also been asked to transfer the land so that construction could be done. He said action had been taken for providing land by the Zila Panchayat, District Supply Department and MC. He asked the Forest Department to soon give permission for cutting of trees . He asked MS Rathore, Executive Engineer, PWD, to speed up the task.
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Outreach programme of Welham Boys School explained
Dehradun, October 5 Addressing the media, Lahiri informed, “Students of the school will release an anthem ‘Ye Dehradun Mera
Dehradun’ for Doonites based on the song ‘Dehradun Dehradun’ by Beatles, on November 9. Our boys are also making a short documentary to persuade Doonites in saving the environment, which will be launched soon. Following it will be a charity fund-raising programme of founders day on October 18 and 19 wherein alumni, students and their parents will participate”. “The school has also planned to offer stationeries and books to underprivileged kids of anganbadi in
Dehradun. The funds and commodities will be given through the patron of these
anganbadis, Margaret Alva, Governor of Uttarakhand on November 14,” asserted
Lahiri. It is relevant to mention that students at Welham Boys School contributed about 1,000 kg of relief material to Ladakh victims inclusive of medicines and woolens from their pocket money. Lahiri also expressed heartfelt gratitude to Jet Airways for sending those supplies to Ladakh free of cost. The details of future strategical programmes of the school with Tata and ONGC were also announced at the press conference. The school will conduct an essay and drawing/painting competition, under the aegis of the Association of Petroleum Geologists
(APG), from October 15 to 20 for an awareness campaign.
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Abstract painting is Archana’s forte
Dehradun, October 5 A visiting painter from Bhopal, Archana today showcased her paintings at the Uttaranchal Gramin Bank Art Gallery which was inaugurated by Governor Margaret Alva. Amidst stark white background, the paintings speak of unbridled imagination that has no boundaries. “Like water that seems unstoppable, I think imagination should be allowed a free run. I have tried to display it through varied colours and contrasts,” said the painter. She has so far participated in 65 national and international-level paintings and was also a recipient of two gold medals, 23 awards and been part of several art camps. A postgraduate in art from Maharani Laxmi Bai College in Bhopal, Archana picked up painting from her father who she says was her only teacher. “I learnt painting under his tutelage and still continue to learn from him,” she said. Abstract painting is her forte and she finds fulfilment in conveying thoughts through this form. “This was the only form that appealed to me and I thought to work in this medium only. The 11 paintings that I am exhibiting have all been painted in different moods,” Archana stressed. It does not bother her one bit that her paintings are not easy to decipher. She is happy painting the way she likes best, a challenge no doubt when art literacy in small towns is only now picking up. “I am happy that more and more youngsters are breaking moulds set by our predecessors. We have to take up the challenge, and only the brave dare,” said
Archana. In fact, the current phase of liberalisation augurs well for young artistes like Archana who can even get corporate support. “Earning bread and butter is no longer a problem. There is interest in private sector and many are willing to lay their bet on the untested and new artistes,” added
Archana.
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KV holds social science expo
Dehradun, October 5 The programme began with the lighting of the lamp and offering of flowers to Goddess Saraswati by the chief guest, Dr SS Negi, president of school managing committee and Director of the FRI. Accompanying him was JM Rawat, Assistant Commissioner, KVS (RO) was the guest of honour. Following that was Saraswati Vandana performed by damsels clad in crisp white saris. The main attraction of the function was a French folk dance and a Punjabi dance in which children showcased the culture of France. The performers captivated the audience with their zest and fervour.
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Ravinder, Saroj win 1,500m race in police meet
Dehradun, October 5 Virender Gole of Almora and Kuldeep Rana of Dehradun got the second and the third place in the 1,500m, respectively. While Rekha of Haridwar and Bhavna Joshi of Dehradun stood second and third in the women 1,500m, respectively. In women discuss throw, Shanti Bisht of Pitthoragarh claimed the first place. Priyadarshani of Udham Singh Nagar and Vinita of the 40th PAC got second and third place, respectively. Haridwar’s Poonum Bhatt captured first place in the women long jump. Nutan Tiwari, also of Haridwar, was behind Poonum getting second place. Sunita Negi of the 31st PAC had to satisfy with the third place. Dehradun’s Santosh Kumar bagged top place in the shot put. Yasdeep (Tehri) and Sanjay (Dehradun) stood second and third, respectively.
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Vaibhav beats Ujjwal
Dehradun, October 5 While in u-16 girls singles, Akansha drubbed Mahal 15-2, 15-3 and Katyani beat Anustha 15-7, 15-10. In U-16 girls singles, Himanshi beat Deepti 15-12, 15-14. Ayushi defeated Vigya 15-7, 15-2. In U-16 girls doubles, Himanshi and Deepti paired to beat Vigya and Diksha 15-6, 15-7. In U-16 boys doubles, Ujjawal and Mayank defeated Yatish and Aryesh 15-10, 15-5.
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Guru Nanak Academy post 5-wicket victory
Dehradun, October 5 Opting to bat first after winning the toss, The Aryan School scored 34 runs for four in the first innings. GNA scored 31 runs losing four wickets. While in the second innings Aryan School could just score 22 runs losing its seven wickets. GNA achieved the target of 26 runs at the loss of two wickets to win the match by five wickets. Ravinder of the winning team gave an all-round performance getting a wicket and scoring 16 runs. In the second match played today, The Heritage School registered 19-run victory over Doon Cambridge School. Puneet Gosain was declared man of the match for scoring 24 runs for Heritage.
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Dehradun, October 5
