Dehradun, November 20
Congress councillors, led by Opposition leader of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) Ashok Verma, ended their fast today after Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) Sushil Kumar gave them an assurance to look into their demands.

He also gave them an assurance that tenders for various works would be floated soon.

He also agreed to look into Verma’s complaint that corporation officials worked on only those resolutions passed at the last board meeting that “suited to their interests”. Verma had also demanded that the officials would have to give account of the status of all resolutions passed earlier and only then they would let the next board meeting held.

Verma also demanded a separate committees of sanitation workers for each ward. He said as Sushil Kumar had given them an assurance to look into their demands, he would be held responsible if he failed to take any action. 

Dehradun, November 20
Developing countries should plan a comprehensive birth defects and genetic combat programme as 70 per cent of the birth defects are preventable and treatable.

As the economic conditions are improving in the country, the burden of birth defects can prove challenging for a country with limited economic resources.

“The government can play an important role by devising a cost- effective national programme for preventing birth defects and genetic disorders,” said Dr Hilary Burton, Director, Pubic Health Genomics Foundation, Cambridge, the United Kingdom.

She was speaking today at a symposium on beta-Thalassaemia, part of the third Asian workshop on Genomics and Community Genetics by the Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences.

She said to a large extent birth defects could be prevented by proper diet before conception, compulsory genetic testing, anti-natal care and new-born screening programme to identify problems so that disabilities could be prevented.

A majority of the birth defects are caused by genetic diseases and blood disorders. These may lead to learning disabilities, Downs Syndrome in children and other genetic disorders. Birth defects may also arise as a result of infection in pregnancy exposure to pesticides and chemical,” said Dr Hillary.

In her presentation, Dr Reena Das, Department of Haematology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, on Beta-Thalassemia, she said it was one of the few genetic disorders where a simple screening test in the form of a blood test was available to test and decide in 95 per cent of individuals whether an individual was normal or was a carrier.

In another presentation, Dr Sujata Sinha on population genetics of beta-thalassaemia in the Indian subcontinent highlighted that thalassaemias were mostly reported from North-Western states of India in the studies conducted in the 1990s but during the past decade they had been diagnosed in almost all states. 

Pithoragarh, November 20
The Jauljibi fair that started on November 14 at Jauljibi town on the Kali-Gori confluence on Indo-Nepal border gathered momentum on Sunday as Tibetan horses, which are known for their sturdiness, reached the fair venue.

“We have come here from the district of Humla and Jumla on Nepal-Tibet border after crossing high mountains for 15 days,” said N Pema, one of the horse traders. The tradition of Tibetan horse market at the Jauljibi fair has been continuing since its inception in 1910. Before that Tibetan horses used to be sold at different places in the region at the beginning of the winter season every year.

“The horse market has been good before the Independence because the entire Kumaon region was without roads at that time,” said Dr Lalit Pant, a researcher on the Indo-Tibetan trade. According to Dr Pant, not only did the people living on Nepal-Tibet border bring horses to the Jauljibi fair but the tribal Khampa community living in Khimling village of Darma valley also bred these horses for the purpose of business. The horses bred at Khimling were used to transport goods to Tibet from the high Himalayan passes of Darma and Johar while the horses brought by the traders from Humla and Jumla districts of far western Nepal were used by the lower valley traders for transportation, said Dr Pant.

He said as the people of Khimling had migrated from their village after the closure of the Tibetan trade in 1962, the horse breeding was also stopped.

“During the decade of the eighties, more than 300 Tibetan horses were sold by these traders. The number decreased in 1990 and the trade of 270 horses could take place that year. This number further decreased to 150 in 2000 and remained only at 138 in 2010,” said Dr Pant.

“Though the horse market is held on the Nepal side of the venue of the fair, a large number of Indian traders purchase these horses. Only today more than 36 horses were purchased by the Indian traders at a cost of about Rs 25000 or Rs 60,000 per horse, depending on the health and age of the horse,” said Dr Abhishek Tripathi, SDM of Dharchula and mela officer.

“Though the Tibetan horses are still brought to the fair, the trade of ‘ghee’, honey and rice which are brought by the traders from Nepal, has gradually faded over the past decades. The same is the fate of the trade of gold recovered from the Himalayan rivers. Though this gold is considered only 75 per cent pure,” said Dr Pant. 

BOTH major political parties, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress, started their election campaign for the forthcoming Assembly elections through high-pitched rallies this month. While, the Congress through laying of the foundation stone of the Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway line at Gauchar in the Garhwal Himalayas tried to woo voters on November 9, the ruling BJP tried to mobilise public opinion through the “Jan Chetna Yatra” of veteran BJP leader Lal Krishan Advani from November 17 to 19.

State Congress leaders, particularly Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj taking the credit of getting the vital railway project in the Garhwal Himalayas, wanted to use the function of laying of the foundation stone of the project for a massive show of strength to kickstart the party’s election campaign in Garhwal.

A large number of people from the entire Garhwal region were mobilised for the rally to be addressed on the occasion by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. However, the general public as well as the state Congress leaders were disappointed as Sonia Gandhi failed to keep date with Uttarakhand due to health reasons.

But still, the Congress managed to portray the railway project as a major developmental project for seeking votes much to the chagrin of the ruling BJP. There was a lot of mudsling, accusations and counter-accusations between the leaders of both parties on the issue.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri took exception to Sonia Gandhi laying the foundation stone of a national project and complained to the Prime Minister for not being invited for the programme. On the other hand, the Congress leaders said the Chief Minister was invited by the Union Railway Ministry, but he decided to skip the function citing prior engagements in connection with the foundation day celebrations of the state on November 9.

There were claims and counter-claims about getting the project sanctioned. The BJP leaders were visibly shaken due to the political mileage that the Congress was likely to get for the railway project. On completion, it will change the socio-economic situation of the Garhwal region.

The ruling BJP leaders started preparing for the “Jan Chetna Yatra” of LK Advani on the issue of corruption and bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks. But the three-day yatra by the senior most BJP leader of the country failed to enthuse BJP cadres in the state. It seemed that the party leaders did not plan the visit of Advani well.

The timings of the rallies to be addressed by Advani at Dehradun and Haldwani, the two major cities of the Garhwal and Kumoan regions, were ill-timed. Entering from Himachal Pradesh late in the evening, Advani could reach Dehradun after 7.30 pm and his address went beyond 8.30 pm. There were only a few thousand people listening to him as most of the chairs were empty.

Girl students display aerobic skills during the annual day of the senior wing of Doon International School in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun November 20
Doon International School held the Annual Sports Meet of its Senior section (i.e.from classes 6 to 12) at the school playground today. BS Sidhu, Additional Director General, CBI, was the chief guest. DS Mann, chairman of the school, was also present on the occasion.

Sidhu appreciated the commendable Tae kwon do show. He emphasized on the importance of sports and the need to promote it more in the country.

Later, he felicitated the winners which included Shruti and Avneet Kaur as winners in the ‘Best Athlete’ (female category) and Shashank Rana and Saif Ali in the ‘Best Athlete’ (male category).

This year Ranjit house bagged the ‘Best house in

March Past’ trophy as well as the ‘Overall Winner 2011’ trophy.

The brilliant aerobics performance, Bhangra and traditional Bengali dance was applauded by everyone in audience. Apart from the regular athletics field & track events, the other highlights of the programme were bamboo PT display, pom pom drill, tug of war and needle & thread race for the school staff. 

Dehradun, November 20
Residents of Ward No. 30 comprising Rest Camp, Chandan Nagar, Block C and Madrasi Colony are irked over the presence of 15 dairies in the area. Cattle dung flowing in small drains of the localities is a common sight here. An overpowering stench of cattle dungs has made it difficult for people to breathe.

Area councillor Anup Kapoor said he had written to the Dehradun Municipal Corporation for the relocation of these dairies several times, but to no avail. Moreover, dairy owners are also not ready to leave their native place.

Amarjeet Singh, a local resident, said: “Unhygienic conditions have made it difficult for us to live. Despite repeated requests to the authorities concerned, nothing has been done to solve our problems.”

Another resident, Karam Singh, said: “Heaps of garbage on the roads is a common sight in the area. There is no proper place where garbage could be dumped.”

Nirmala Devi said: “The councillor has failed to solve our problems. People in our area have hired a private garbage collector who charge Rs 30 per month from every house.”

However, the councillor held the DMC responsible for all problems. He said: “The DMC has been unable to provide the garbage disposal system in the city. All my pleas to arrange rehries or bins have fallen on deaf ears.”

Rajender Kumar, another resident, said: “The streetlight next to my house is lying defunct for two weeks. Despite written complaints to the DMC, no one has come to repair it. It has become difficult for us to go out of the house in the dark.”

The councillor said against the required demand of 30 streetlights, there were only 16 in the area. And if any of it developed a snag, the authorities took long time to repair, he added.

He, however, thanked MLA Dinesh Aggarwal for revamping the condition of 16 roads in the area.