Dehradun, December 19
The last day of the 14th symposium on earthquake engineering at the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) auditorium ended with presentation of 40 papers. The department is celebrating its golden jubilee this year and 150 delegates participated in the symposium.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Prof Bing Li highlighted weaknesses of the present seismic design practice and suggested some remedies to it. He said in the earthquakes that happened in the past, most of the failures of RC buildings had been due to the failure of columns and special attention was needed in designing RC buildings. The design codes, particularly of Asian countries, did not deal with this issue adequately, he added.

Speaking over the soil structure interaction, scientist of the Norwegian Geological Institute Dr Amir Kaniya said local soil had an important role in seismic response of buildings and earthquake resistant design should consider the soil.

Professor Emeritus, Department of Earthquake Engineering, IIT Roorkee, Padma Shri Dr AS Arya delivered his address on mainstreaming the disaster management to housing projects. He expressed regret that two major projects of the Government of India- JNNURM and Rajiv Avas Yojna do not talk about disaster management. “It shows the mentality of our policy makers on the issues related to disaster management,” he added.

On the second day of the symposium, eight sessions were held where two sessions were exclusively on the Indo-Norwegian collaboration for risk reduction in the Himalayas.

Dr Dominik Lang from NORSAR, Norway, presented a study on seismic vulnerability of hospitals and schools in Dehradun. Dr Lang presented a new index-based methodology, which he has used in some Central American countries- Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

While presenting the common points and differences between the two regions of the world, he concluded that the situation was equally alarming and urgent actions were necessary to save the future generations from earthquakes. He said none of the surveyed hospitals in Dehradun were earthquake proof. In case of any mishap these would be destroyed, leaving no place for treatment of the injured, he commented.

Putul Haldar presented software for risk assessment of cities and a case study of Dehradun. She has estimated that about 1,500 people would die and roughly 11,000 people would be injured if an earthquake of intensity VIII strikes Dehradun.

Dr Girish Joshi from the DMMC, Dehradun, presented the vulnerability of housing in hill areas. Prof WD Laim Finn presented the 31st annual lecture on evolution in selection and application of ground motions for design. He was also awarded the annual prize.

Dehradun, December 19
To protest against the non-inclusion of residents of Dehradun in the development of the city, the Citizens for Green Doon staged a dharna at the Clock Tower here today.

Speaking on the issue, De Nitin Pandey said residents of this city were not included in the decision-making process, which was done entirely by bureaucrats who did not have any sentiments for the city. The government must interact and take the opinion of a wide cross section of the society before finalising the future plans for Dehradun as the city was turning into a concrete jungle.

Ruchi Singh Rao said Dehradun was once known for greenery and as a city of “green hedges and grey hair”. All this had changed and because of the insensitive town planning. Canals, which flowed through the city since the British period, had been made underground, thus robbing the city of its identity. The rich and the powerful flouted norms with impunity leading to numerous problems to city dwellers.

Dehradun, December 19
For opposing the unfair practices allegedly being adopted by the governments of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh over the acquisition of agricultural land for the development of the new Roorkee-Deoband rail link, farmers in Roorkee have constituted a committee to protest against the matter.

“The maximum price of every hectare in Haridwar district is of around Rs 10 crore as all land earmarked for acquisition by the state government is highly agro-productive and the rate being offered to us is around Rs 44 lakh per hectare.

“We demand rational and market-oriented prices for our lands. If governments of both states fail to offer the right price to us, we definitely will go on an agitation,” said Prahlad Singh Chaudhary, president of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, the agitation committee formed by the farmers.

Chaudhary, along with officials of the committee and affected farmers of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, was speaking at a press conference yesterday about highlighting their objections towards the land-acquisition process of both governments in developing the Roorkee-Deoband rail link.

On being asked that the price being demanded by farmers was an exaggerated sum of Rs 10 crore for one hectare against the government-offered price of Rs 40 lakh, Chaudhary said it was the appropriate price that was prevailing in the market.

“If the farmers’ land is usurped by the government at an unfair price, then how will the farmer buy another equally large land with that little amount of money as the market rate is Rs 10 crore,” said Chaudhary.

Around two dozen villages of both states - Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh - have reportedly come under the proposed rail link. Land in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) districts needs to be acquired by the Railways for the development of the new rail link which is expected to shorten the journey time from Delhi to Dehradun by at least 45 minutes. Officials of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti were also demanding a job in the Railways for one member from each farmer’s family affected by the proposed land acquisition.

“They (Railways) are taking our valuable land for their revenue generation, so it is their duty that they put one of our family members on their rolls,” said Anees Gaur.

Dehradun, December 19
Members of the Uttarakhand Freedom Fighter and Successors Organisation paid tributes to martyrs of the Kakori incident on its 83rd death anniversary here today. Mayor Vinod Chamoli was the guest of honour. Martyrs Pt Ram Prashad Bismil, Ashfak Ullah Khan Vasi Hasrat, Rajinder Nath Lahiri and Thakur Roshan Singh were hanged to death by the British on December 19, 1927.

Putting light on the incident, PK Khatri, general secretary of the organisation and son of martyr Ramkrishan Khatri, said to arrange for money, 20 young men on August 9, 1925, had looted a train in Kakori, 13 km away from Lucknow, which was carrying government money in it.

He further stated that this was one of the most important incidents that took place during the fight for independence and the whole country got agitated against the British, the result of which was freedom.

They believed that after being inspired by this incident, Mahatma Gandhi had chosen August 9, 1942, and addressed Gwalior Tank of Mumbai as Kranti Maidan. He had then started the slogans “Karo Ya Maro” and “Angrazo Bharat Chhodo” from there.

Khatri affirmed that it was judge A Hamelton who had delivered the verdict related to the Kakori incident on April 6, 1927, in which he ordered the hang-till-death sentence for four agitators and five years and life imprisonment for the remaining 16.

Following this, Rajinder Nath Lahiri was hanged in the Gonda district jail on December 17, 1927. The three others Pt Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfak Ullaha Khan Varsi and Roshan Singh were hanged in the Gorakhpur district jail, Faizabad district jail and Malaka jail, Illahabad, respectively, on December 19, 1927.

Dehradun, December 19
To provide tips to students on what one should do before going for an interview or while facing an interview, a day-long workshop was held at SGRR PG College here today.

The workshop was conducted under the aegis of the English Literary Society of the English department of the college in association with the Career and Counseling Cell where Prof Rashmi Gaur was invited as a guest faculty.

Professor Gaur said an interviewee must never lie to the interviewer and answer the questions confidently. “The interviewee must patiently listen to the interviewer and stop himself from criticising anyone,” asserted Rashmi.

The students also had interactive sessions with the guest faculty and they enquired about their doubts.

Dehradun, December 19
To review development in areas damaged due to natural calamities earlier this year, Chief Secretary Subash Kumar today visited various sites affected by floods.

During his two-day visit, Kumar went to Sahaspur, Vikas Nagar, Kalsi and Chakrata and reviewed various development schemes. He asked officials to solve the problems faced by people on a priority basis.

The chief secretary told the villagers that BPL families would get rice for Rs 2 per kg and wheat for Rs 3 per kg from now onwards.

Dehradun District Magistrate (DM) Sachin Kurve and officials from related departments also went along with the Chief Secretary.

The villagers apprised Kumar about the absence of the office, where they could submit their electricity bills, as they need to visit Chakrata for the same. At this, he asked the DM to ensure that the bills were deposited on the panchayat level.

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subash Kumar talks to a village woman during his visit to Chakrata. 

Dehradun, December 19
The 10-day extravaganza, Uttarakhand Expo, 2010, and the Northern India International Trade Fair, 2010, ended impressively at the Parade Ground here today. On the concluding day, chief guest Harbans Kapoor, Speaker, state Assembly felicitated the participating organizations as well as the artisans that performed well and had maximum sale during the entire trade fair.

However, the exhibitors from all over India at the expo set up more than 350 stalls. From woollens to decorative items, from eatables to home utility items, every item exhibited by folk artisans captivated visitors.

The organisations that participated were ONGC, GAIL, STPI, NABARD, SIDBI, Coir Board of India, National Jute Board, Tea Board of India, West Bengal, Power Grid of India, Coffee Board of India, Petroleum Conservation Research Association, National Industries of Corporation Ltd, Bausch International, Ranbaxy, Survey of India, Ozone Overseas, Dish TV, Usha International, Tata Tele Services and many more.

During the prize distribution ceremony, the chief guest appreciated the work of all the crew members of the organising committee and felicitated BS Negi, Chairman of the Indian International Trade Event Organisation, for promoting traditional art forms of India through the trade fair. He also congratulated Negi for making business of worth over Rs 3.5 crore, due to which the artisans were excited and wanted more such events to be held.

Furthermore, while exhibitors from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala, Orissa, Assam, Kashmir and other parts of India have displayed their products, preference to artists from Uttarakhand is also given to endorse their products in the trade fair. “As compared to the previous years, the number of stalls has increased and while we have called upon exhibitors from nearby states, our motive is to give preference to Uttarakhand exhibitors so that the host state gets apt opportunities to flourish and develop networking skills,” said Negi.

Haridwar, December 19
With electro homoeopathic therapy fast gaining mass acceptance in the state, as a result associated people have now decided to spread this therapy and have constituted the Electro Homoeopathic Medical Association (EHMA).

The elections for the Uttarakhand unit of the association were completed today. Haridwar-based Dr KPS Chauhan was unanimously elected as the state president of the EHMA.

Chief election officer general, EHMA, India, Dr PS Vajpayee said it’s the duty and responsibility of all the members to work for the enhancement of this therapy and the organisation.

“Inculcate values of working for people as janhit sarvopari (working for all socially) should be the prime objective for us. Be it from our homes, clinics or society, we have to work without monetary benefits taking precedence from our objective,” said Vajpayee.

As per KPS Chauhan, the extension and appointment of association working body will be completed in all districts of the state by this month end, while the oath-taking ceremony will be held on January 11, on occasion of the homoeopathic founder Matii’s birth anniversary.

SS Prajapati (Champawat) has been elected vice-president, Juneid Ansari (Pauri Garhwal) is general secretary, RK Bhatt (Tehri Garhwal) organisation minister, Mukesh Chauhan (Dehradun) programme in charge, Zaffar Shaifi (Naintial) media, VL Akhanian (Haridwar) treasurer, Nisha Sharma (Uttarkashi) secretary, RP Gairoola (Dehradun) media in charge, Kushal Pal Chauhan (Haridwar) legal advisor and others, including NS Bisht, Prakash Pathak, Satish Chandra Upreti, Subashi Chauhan, Jagdeesh Bhatt, Lokmano Pandey, Tejpal Singh Chauhan, Brijbhushan Kumar, Dayal M Lal, Adarsh Kumar Sharma, Rajpal Singh Arya, Anshu Tripathi, Laxman Singh Negi, Bhagwan Sharma, BS Negi and Om Prakash Sharma.

Nainital, December 19
The administration in Udham Singh Nagar district claims to have initiated certain steps to facilitate proper marketing and other facilities for the farming community in the district which is known as the grain bowl of the state.

Additional District Magistrate Bansidhar Tewari has asked officials to write to the state administration on the various problems being highlighted by farmers with regards to various mandi samitis. Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department DS Kachwaha has been asked to personally supervise the works on cleaning of various canals which form the backbone of irrigation in the region.

At a meeting of the Krishak Bandhu held at Rudrapur a couple of days back, the farmers raised the issues of irrigation, support price for cane, irregularities in various wholesale markets and power supply.

The farmers pointed towards certain practices that were leading to loss of revenue for the state. They pointed that in the absence of auction facilities, the producers were at a loss while selling their produce in wholesale markets. One of the farmers Yashwant Mishra pointed towards the bias of the government in building roads only in urban areas which was of no use to the farmers.

Kachwaha disclosed that the work on the cleaning of canals had started through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGA). The farmers wanted that the work be got done by the Irrigation Department.

Chief Agriculture Officer PK Singh pointed that his department had forwarded a proposal based on the demands of the farmers that instead of group insurance for agricultural produce, the cover should be provided to individual producers.