Dehradun, April 15
The Atal Khadyan Yojna that was kicked off with much fanfare across the state a few months back seems to be fizzling out now as the government is unable to provide the required amount of rations to the APL families. According to the fair price shopkeepers, they are getting just half of the quota, making it difficult for them to distribute ration to the APL families as every one wants to buy ration from their shops due to the lowest price fixed by the government. Under the scheme, the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families will get wheat and rice at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg through the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) outlets while the Above Poverty Line (APL) beneficiaries will get the same at Rs 4 and Rs 6 per kg, under the scheme. Though the supply for the BPL families is fine but the APL families are facing shortage at the shops.

“We need to provide 8 kg of wheat and 2 kg of rice to the APL family under the quota scheme but we are not able to provide it to our customers due to its unavailability,” said one of the fair price shop owners on condition of annonymity. “The government failed to provide the ration according to the desired quota,” he added.

Another fair price shopkeeper also stated that due to shortage of supply, many of the APL families were getting 6 kg of wheat and one kg of rice.

Sources maintained that there were as many as 3,28,548 APL cardholders. According to the number, the government needs to supply at least 6,000 metric tonnes of wheat and 4,500 metric tonnes of rice but it is just able to provide 2,500 metric tonnes wheat and 400 metric tonne rice.

Talking to The Tribune, MS Vishan, Food and Supplies Officer, said, “Though the shopkeepers in some of the areas are facing a problem in getting proper supply of ration under this scheme, this problem will be solved very soon.” “It has also been seen that card holders at various places do not get ration,” he said.

Dehradun, April 15
Early diagnostic and intervention facilities for children suffering from mental disabilities continue to elude most parents and children in Uttarakhand. Looking after two children with mental disabilities since birth, Nathi Singh, a resident of Tehri, has been running from pillar to post for the past 21 years looking for an institution that would help him understand the problem faced by his children and a possible line of action.

Though late, his quest ended today with a panel of doctors from the Doon District Hospital examining his sons Manoj (24) and Pramod (21). “Their problem has been exacerbated in the absence of early intervention centers. If mental disabilities are diagnosed early it makes dealing with such cases much easier. In this case, the children would be examined by an orthopaedic surgeon and a psychologist before we take up the rehabilitation exercise,” said Dr BC Pathak, CMS, Doon District Hospital.

There were problems galore for Nathi, a farmer, from the very beginning. A lack of information proved to be his undoing. “There is no centre at the Tehri District Hospital where my children could be tested. I had heard that a disability certificate could come handy so I went from pillar to post to get it, but in vain as there were no testing centres at my home town,” said Nathi while narrating his tale of woes.

While the disability certificate will help Nathi get meagre finances, it is proper care and medication that would be available for the two boys. They could not avail themselves of this aid in Tehri and Uttarkashi. Experts point out that an integrated approach requires in such cases and the co-operation of a variety of medical professionals on a day-to-day basis is needed. Starting an integrated care at an early stage has proven to be very effective in prevention of further delay of development and the method is nowadays accepted as a standard care for children with disabilities in most countries,” said Dr Pratibha Sharma, a psychologist with the Doon District Hospital.

Only recently, the hospital signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Latika Roy Foundation to set up an Early Intervention Centre at the hospital. “This is the first intervention centre to come up in Uttarakhand and we hope to provide support to parents and children in diagnosis and rehabilitation,” said Dr Pathak.

Dehradun, April 15
Agitated members of the BEd/BPEd Prashikshit Berozgar Sangathan laid a siege to the Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s residence and broke the barricades put up by the police here today. The protesters raised slogans demanding to fill 8,000 vacancies of special BTC teachers.

A delegation of Shiksha Mitars had been assured of a meeting with Chief Minister in the past, but it had been cancelled without prior notice.

With a view to meeting the Chief Minister, the infuriated Shiksha Mitars went in a procession towards his residence and forcibly removed the huge barricades put up by the police. They had scuffles with police personnel after which Baldev Singh Bhandari, state president of the sangathan fainted on the spot.

Raising slogans against the state government, the Shiksha Mitars resolved to continue their agitation till they get permanent jobs. The protesters also criticised the state government for taking no decision in trained teachers’ interests.

According to the state unit vice-president, Himanshu Rajput, “The state government has made us toil on the roads and streets of Dehradun to fight for our demands. In fact, we have faced a financial crisis and unfavourable family conditions since the protest was initiated.”

“For some reasons, the state government has been ignoring us for a long time. The Chief Minister had never held a meeting with us to discuss the pending demands. We want to meet him at least once so that we can put forth our problems and grievances against him,” he asserted.

Dehradun, April 15
Bundu Khan and his Rajasthani folk artistes weaved their magic in Dehradun through their melodious folk music that has become the toast of the Hindi film world and television.

“Music runs in our veins. We are all Langa tribesmen hailing from Rajasthan. We are members from the seventh generation, actively engaged in carrying the musical tradition forward,” said Bundu Khan Langha, while speaking with the Tribune.

The performance was held today at CNI Girls Inter College and facilitated by the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture (SPICMACAY).

The six members, all related to each other, presented a delectable mix of devotional song ‘Gajananda’, followed by ‘Gorband nakhralu’ and the popular ‘Nimbuda’. Proud of the origin of the ‘Nimbuda’ song, Bundu Khan had protested against the film-makers of “Hum Dil Dey Chukey Sanam” failing to give them credit. “The origins of the song can be traced to the Mangniyars and Langa tribesmen of Rajasthan. We should have at least been given credit,” said a visibly disturbed Bundu Khan.

The high point of the programme was the final presentation by the Kalbelia dancers (mainly females) who danced acrobatically to foot-tapping music.

The nomadic Muslim tribesmen continue to follow the tradition of singing in the Jajman tradition.

“The Sindhi-Sipahis of Rajasthan are our benefactors, we sing for them and in exchange they give us camels. Even in the times of famine, they cannot deny us food,” said Bundu Khan, who resides in Jodhpur.

His troupe has performed to packed houses in France, Spain and Switzerland and, to their credit, they have never been charmed by the city life, either here or abroad. “We are happy with our life; the ostentatious show of wealth is not for us. Our boys have been selected for the “Indian Idol” show, but that is about all. I cannot say about the next generation. The deserts of Rajasthan and Kutch have been our homes for centuries; the golden sand dunes enrich us. I do not know if I will be able to find my voice in the cities. These short sojourns are just about all I can deal with,” said Bundu Khan.

Sixteen-year-old Shaatar Khan who had a brush with the popular television musical realty show “Indian Idol”, concurs with his uncle. “I had participated in the audition in 2010 for the “Indian Idol” but at that point in time I was underage, so I could not participate,” he stressed.

At the end of the programme, the Principal of the college, V Martin, presented mementos to the artistes.

Dehradun, April 15
Dhruvpal, Mritunjay and Sachi Belwal from Dehradun won their event matches in the finals of the All-India Junior Tennis Talent Series Tournament held here today.

The Uttaranchal Tennis Association had organised the tournament for the boys and girls of under-12 and under-14 age groups at Shanti Tennis Academy from April 11. Many upcoming tennis players from the states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh participated in the tournament.

In the boys’ singles (under-12), Mritunjay Badola of Uttarakhand defeated Utkarsh Bhardwaj, also from Uttarakhand, 6-4, 6-4. In the boys’ singles (under-14), Dhruv Pal of Uttarakhand beat Mayuk Rawat, also from Uttarakhand, 6-3, 6-0. In the girls’ singles (under-12), Sahyata Nihlani of Delhi defeated Shristy Dhanda of Haryana 6-7, 7-6, 6-0

In the girls’ singles (under-14), Sachi Belwal of Uttarakhand defeated Shristy Dhanda of Haryana 6-2, 6-1.

Captain of the Indian volleyball team Y Subbarao distributed the prizes to the winners and runners-up at the closing ceremony. All the matches of the tournament were conducted by Anshupal, Hridyesh and Bhupinder under the supervision of tournament director Avinash Kumar.

Dehradun, April 15
Chabra Cricket Club and Rajendra Sports Club won their respective matches in the Shri Pati Dass Memorial Cricket Tournament played at the Dehradun Jail grounds here today.

In the first match, Chabra Cricket Club defeated IT Cricket Club by six wickets. IT Cricket Club won the toss and elected to bat first. The team scored 106 (all out) in 18.5 overs. Parmod was the highest scorer with 32 runs and opener Ravi scored 22 runs. Vinod and Deepak took two wickets each for Chabra Cricket Club.

In reply, Chabra Cricket Club scored 108 runs at the loss of four wickets in 15 overs. Opener Deepak was the highest scorer with 39 runs for 37 balls.

In the second match, Rajendra Sports Club beat Thakurpur Eleven by 44 runs. Rajendra Sports Club won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 163 for six wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Shafiq Rao was the top scorer with 62 runs for 45 balls. Dalip took two wickets for 25 runs for the Thakur Eleven team.

In reply, Thakur Eleven was all out for 119 runs in 19.3 overs. Parkash was the tops-corer with 20 runs. Shafiq Rao and Adarsh took two wickets each for Rajendra Sports Club.