Dehradun, July 11
A blood separator machine provided by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) at a cost of Rs 40 lakh for installing at Veer Chander Singh Garhwali Government Medical Science and Research Institute/Hospital continues to gather dust in a store for lack of proper space.

A year ago NACO had provided the machine with the intention that the authorities at the Srinagar Medical College would make it operational by March 2010, but delay in financial sanction for constructing a cell with a generator and air-conditioning has resulted in the non-utilisation of the equipment.

The blood separator machine is safe for separating components in blood. In a state like Uttarakhand, where voluntary blood donation is slowly gaining momentum and the availability of blood at times becomes scarce, the machine proves useful in the optimum utilisation of blood.

In the Dehradun District Hospital the first blood separator machine was installed last year. Srinagar would have become the second hospital in the state with this facility that would have catered to the needs of patients from the Garhwal region.

Sources claim that the medical college was sanctioned only Rs 40,000 for construction purposes, which it found inadequate, and wrote to the state government demanding Rs 40 lakh more for constructing the two- room set. To this day the amount has not been sanctioned.

“We have been sending reminders to the Srinagar hospital authorities to immediately submit a statement of expenditure and the utilisation certificate about the first instalment.However, there has been no response from the medical college authorities. This has delayed the installation of the machine,” said Dr Meenakashi Uniyal, Director, Blood Safety, Uttarakhand Aids Control Society.

She added that they had been sending reminders to both the hospital and the administration to sanction the amount so that the machine could be installed but to no avail. “The bureaucratic delay is proving costly as NACO has certain norms.We have to get this machine functional and then demand more. After all, it is in the interest of the state,” she affirmed.

The Blood Safety (Uttarakhand) authorities have also sanctioned blood storage facilities for the Community Health Centres at Kichha, Joshimath, Jaspur and Agustmuni but the operations there, too, have been delayed due to the lack 
of staff.

They also distributed sweets among the public after the wall had been pulled down.

MLA Dinesh Aggarwal, who was also present at the site, said he had been trying to get the wall demolished for a long time.

Talking to the media, Chamoli said: “More than 50,000 residents of the city had to take a detour to reach Patel Nagar and Kargi after the construction of the wall.” “Earlier, the wall was allowed to be constructed on a request by the institute authorities but now they had approached us to get the wall demolished. The matter had already been approved by the board,”  he added.

Dehradun, July 11
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today cautioned against the imbalance that could result due to shrinking resources and rising population in Uttarakhand. He said if immediate steps were not taken to stabilise the population, a situation might arise wherein fights for control over resources might become a daily occurrence. 

“I suggest that Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and ANMs (Auxillary Nurse and Midwife) adopt villages and spread awareness about the need to restrict families. They could begin with Atal Adarsh Grams and spread the message to other villages,” he said. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Population Stabilisation Fortnight that is being simultaneously observed in all 13 districts of the state to mark World Population Day.

Despite family planning programmes launched by the state, the population in Uttarakhand has touched the 1 crore mark and the fertility rate continues to veer around 2.5 per cent while the state is committed to bringing it down to 2.1 per cent, as stated in the its population policy.

The Chief Minister also raised concerns about the declining girl child population in the age group 0-6 years. He specifically asked the Director-General, Health, to launch a drive against clinics found violating the provisions of the PNDT Act, 1994. “The trends reported in the provisional census report of the Government of India are alarming for the state and efforts should be made to curb the heinous practice of killing the unborn girl child,” said the Chief Minister.

According to the provisional census report, the sex ratio for children in the age group 0-6 years for girls dropped to 886 for every 1,000 boys in 2011. It was 908 per 1,000 boys in 2001.

Dr Piyush Singh, Director, National Rural Health Mission, said the Uttarakhand Government’s efforts would be to meet the population target. Family planning facilities would now be available at all community health centres in all 13 districts.

Earlier in the morning a rally was held in which NCC cadets and students of nursing schools participated. 

Dehradun, July 11
A large number of vehicles that had been impounded for traffic violations or recovered from thieves continue to be lying at different police stations of the state capital, as the authorities concerned have failed to dispose these of. Not only these two-wheelers and four-wheelers give an awful look to the police stations, but also take a lot of space.

Though the police has disposed of 1,645 vehicles this year, the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Dehradun, has failed to dispose of even a single vehicle in 2011.

“We have not invited any bid for these vehicles this year, but in about a month and a half we will be inviting bids for the maximum number of vehicles lying at the police stations,” Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Shailesh Tiwari told The Tribune.

As per the record of the Dehradun police, till June 30 this year, as many as 814 vehicles were lying at the police stations. Of these, 1,645 have been
disposed of.

The maximum number of such vehicles (255) is lying at the Kotwali Police Station, followed by the Rishikesh Police Station (113), Vikasnagar Police Station (64), Basant Vihar Police Station (57), Doiwala Police Station (55), Nehru Colony Police Station (47) and the Dalanwala Police Station (41).

According to Tiwari, the owners of such vehicles are served notices twice asking them to pay the compounding fee and get their vehicles. If they don’t come to pay the fee, then with the permission of the court the value of the vehicles is evaluated and these are put on the block.

“A large number of vehicles lying at different police stations is a big problem for us. However, at our end we have disposed of several of these vehicles,” Ajay Joshi, Superintendent of Police (City).

Mussoorie, July 11
A meeting of the State Youth Welfare Board executive committee held here today decided to recommend 4 per cent reservation in government jobs for players who represented the state in national or international competitions.

The meeting of the executive committee was convened after a gap of 10 years.It was chaired by State Disaster and Youth Welfare Minister Khajan Das.Several pending proposals were discussed in detail at the meeting.

Khajan Das was unhappy that various departments despite clear directions had not made arrangements for the reservation of jobs for such players. He suggested that a reminder should be sent immediately to the departments concerned in this regard.

The committee also discussed the issue of increasing the workforce in the board considering the terrain of the state. It also discussed the framing of guidelines for the workforce.

The budget for programmes under National Social Work being carried out in the state was also discussed.

Later, speaking to mediapersons Khajan Das said it was sad that an executive body meeting was being held after 10 years which had created several administrative problems. But his government was committed to the welfare of youth in the state and therefore had decided that the bodies would meet on a quarterly basis.

He said a few officials would be appointed to ensure interaction between the Centre and the state so that the state could benefit from the ongoing welfare schemes.

State Youth Welfare Board Vice-President Subash Barthwal, Additional Secretary Vijay Kumar Dhaundiyal, and member, Youth Welfare Board, Vinod Gumbar,were among those present.

Dehradun, July 11
The state government’s inability to show commitment towards implementing the Security Act has stoked up the already prevailing anger among government doctors.

The government has failed to implement the Security Act in the state, which has upset doctors. Doctors have decided that if the government failed to implement the Security Act, they may resort to strike.

Incidents of violence against doctors have risen in Uttarakhand in the past few months.

“We have been waiting for a positive response from the government, but it seems the government is reluctant to fulfil our demands which are genuine,” said Dr DP Joshi, general secretary of the Uttarakhand Provincial Medical and Health Services (PMHS), Uttarakhand.

State government doctors have put on hold their strike plans due to the ongoing Char-Dham yatra. “We have been cooperating with the government so far, but in case the government fails to deliver on the Security Act, we will be forced to go on strike,” said Dr SD Joshi, president of the PMHS.

The government has once again assured the doctors that the Act will be given a go-ahead during the Cabinet meeting on July 26.

Dehradun July 11
The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), ICFAI University, Dehradun, successfully completed the placements of its 6th batch of MBA students on June 30.

Brigadier ML Sabharwal (retd), Principal of the university, congratulated the students and appreciated the efforts of the placement team and faculty.

Over 85 per cent of the students were placed in the blue-chip companies, including Deloitte, Goodyear, Capital IQ, Pepsico, ICICI Securities, HCL, Reliance Retail, ITC, Linxsmart, SBI Life, Matrix Cellular and many more.

More than 45 companies participated in the placement drive of FMS, ICFAI University, Dehradun.

The highest package offered to the students during campus placement was of Rs 4.57 lakh per annum while the average package was of Rs 3.1 lakh per annum.

Speaking on the issue, Sabharwal said, “It’s not surprising that students who’ve put in a few years of work experience are finding favour with companies. But with a majority of students (over 73 per cent in the batch of 2011) 
being freshers, with no prior work experience, the task of grooming them is always challenging”.

Dehradun, July 11
Although landslides and heavy rain may have forced their cycle expedition to get delayed by four days, the brave Army men today returned to their 72 Field Regiment, Dehradun, completing the journey.

This was the first such expedition by the Army to Yamunotri. The expedition, which started from Dehradun, covered 170 km of mountainous route through remote areas.

“Through the expedition, we got a chance to meet people who are cut off from the general population and the military. We learnt many things from them. We told them about the Army,” one of the senior members of the expedition, Subedar RDS Rawat, said.

The 13-member team led by Capt Praveen Thakur had set

off on July 2 on its multi-dimensional mission.

Through the expedition, the Army men motivated 92 youths of the region to join the force and also told 152 ex-servicemen in the remote areas about the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme.

They also planted saplings during the journey and gave the message of ecological conservation. The team traversed the rough terrain of Kempty, Damta, Barkot and Hanuman Chatti before reaching Yamunotri.

“On the way boulders were falling on roads.We were lucky to escape. We helped the workers clear the road on

our journey. Despite these challenges, no one in the team suffered from even a headache,” Rawat added.

The expedition,which reached in the evening, was welcomed at the Regiment in Dehradun.

“There were many difficulties during the expedition but our brave Army men did what they are known for,” said Col Vinayak Mishra.

Colonel Mishra congratulated the team and gave prizes. “This is the first time our cycling expedition went to Yamunotri, which is considered the toughest terrain among the Char Dham,” he added.

Dehradun, July 11
With a spirited team effort Uttarakhand Police rained goals on Indra Club to rout them 7-0 here today during the ongoing 60th Lala Nemi Dass Memorial District Football League.

Anup (fifth minute), Harinder (21st), Sourabh (28th), Pradeep (35th), Deepak (41st and 50th) and Dharmveer (45th) were the scorers for the winning team. Indra Club cut a sorry figure, failing to score any goal. Also, Doon Star thrashed Nagar Nigam 4-1. Gachu (10th and 14th), Vikram (25th) and Prashant Thapa (45th) were the stars in the win. Sunil (44th) was the only scorer for Nigam.

Tomorrow, Gorkha Boys will meet Doon Challengers and Hostel Club will play against Thakurpur.