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Eight students injured in college blast
Polio Immunisation Day
UK Rotarians give polio drops to kids
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Pulse polio drive launched
Pavement sellers get relief
Vijay Cantt team lift football title
Magazine released
Doon Civic Blues Ward No. 52 
Waterlogging a bane of Panditwari
Dehradun, February 19 The problem of waterlogging on the main roads of Ward 52 of Panditwari is not new. The residents had been reiterating the issue time and again but the authorities are least bothered about addressing their grievances. A dilapidated road in Ward No. 52, Dehradun.
Nainital Diary
Farewell at Oak Grove School
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Eight students injured in college blast
Dehradun February 19 The injured have been identified as Shalu Kumar, Sagar, Rahul, Abhishek, Sachin, Banti, Shubham and Deepak. Shalu Kumar, Sagar and Rahul who sustained serious injuries have been referred to Himalayan Hospital, Jolly Grant, Rishikesh. The other five have been admitted to Doon Hospital. A magisterial probe under Additional District Magistrate (Revenue) Neeraj Kairwal has also been ordered. One of the victims, Shubham Kumar, said: “While playing in the ground, we saw a shell. Not knowing what it is, the boys brought it to the college and started fiddling with it. And within seconds a blast occurred. It became dark before my eyes as I could not guess what has happened all of a sudden. Then I saw blood oozing out from various parts of my body.” Deepak Chaudhary, who hails from Haridwar, said he was sitting at a distance and was not among those who were fiddling with it. However, he, too, became a victim of the blast. Another victim, Abhishek, said they screamed for help and students from other two hostels reached the spot and informed 108 emergency services. The Senior Superintendent of Police, GN Goswami, said: “The boys should not have fiddled with the shell. Since it is a firing range of the Army and shells can fly away to a distance, the Army cannot be held responsible for the incident,” he said. District Magistrate Dileep Jawalkar said a magisterial probe had been ordered into the incident, which would be carried out under the supervision of the Additional District Magistrate (Revenue). “Normally, the Army deputes an officer who keep account of the number of shells used in the exercises (used or left live). His role in this case will also be monitored,” Jawalkar said, adding that the Army firing range at Raipur was temporary.
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Rift between health officials, Rotary Club
Members blamed for ignoring slum dwellers Ajay Ramola
Mussoorie, February 19 The local health officials lamented the fact that the Rotary members were not serious about the polio eradication programme in Mussoorie and were only interested in manning the booth convenient to them in the area of Tilak Memorial Library and not in the slum dwellings where it was needed the most. When contacted, the Rotary Club, Mussoorie, president Shalabh Garg refuted the claims made by the local health officials. He said the Rotarian, under their International Plus Polio Programme, had volunteered to protect more than two billion children in 122 countries from polio. Till date, the organisation had contributed more than $700 million, a figure that would rise to more than $850 million by the time the world was certified free from polio, he added. Garg said the club had always taken a lead in administering the vaccine to children. “Rotary club of Mussoorie was keen on providing valuable support during national immunisation days and work diligently, but the onus was clearly on the concerned department on the kind of support it required from the club,” added Garg. Another Rotarian, Nitish Mohan, said the misunderstanding between the two organisations, which were working with similar goal, should be sorted out at the earliest. According to the figures, around 2,096 children were administered polio vaccine in Mussoorie from the 42 booths established on the occasion, which was less than the target of 4,200 children set up by the department.
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UK Rotarians give polio drops to kids
Mussoorie, February 19 Mcneel said she had come here under the cultural exchange programme. She said she was extremely excited to be a part of such a noble cause. She hoped that with continuous efforts, Polio would be eradicated from the face of earth one day. The team head, Parminder Tamana, said the study group would also be visiting Rishikesh, Haridwar, Shimla and Chandigarh. The Rotary, Mussoorie, president Shalabh Garg said the interaction with the fellow members had been fruitful and they would be make use of the experiences shared by the group in their future programmes to assist the marginalised society of the town.
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Pulse polio drive launched
Dehradun, February 19 In his brief address, Chief Secretary said it was a matter of honour that no polio case had been detected in the state since 2009. He appealed to the people to ensure that they compulsorily administer polio drops to their infants. Kumar disclosed that the campaign is 94th of such campaigns since 1995. A total of 12,688 teams and 9,017 booths have been constituted for the campaign. The mobile and transit teams will reach a total of 22,96,211 houses during this campaign. State Principal Secretary, Health, S Ramaswami, and state Additional Secretary Piyush Singh were present.
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Pavement sellers get relief
Dehradun, February 19 Unlike previous Sunday weekly market, the pavement dwellers were removed in the morning. But during the day, police personnel were not seen being harsh on the sellers. The crowd also appeared to be happy with the move. Kunti Gildiyal, a homemaker, said she wanted to buy clothes for her children for Mahashivratri and could afford only cheap clothes from the Sunday market. “I was apprehensive about finding these sellers in the Paltan Bazaar as they had been pushed out last Sunday. But I am happy to see them.” Some customers were seen shopping vigorously. Reeta Bahuguna, a teacher, said she picked up extra items fearing that these sellers might not be there in the bazaar next Sunday. The pavement sellers too had a relief. Parveen Kumar said the police was not strict but still he was wary. Anil Chamli, another seller complained that they had built a clientele for themselves over the years. It was difficult to earn good money by sitting elsewhere. He said the administration must seek an amicable way out which would be suitable for every one.
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Vijay Cantt team lift football title
Dehradun, February 19 In a hard-fought final match, both teams tried hard to score but it was Ankur of the Vijay Cantt team who scored the first goal in the 47th minute of the game through a header. Five Vikas players tried hard for an equaliser but Vijay Cantt defenders denied them any chance. It was again Ankur who scored the second goal in the 68th minute to seal the fate of the Five Vikas team. Amar Bahadur Gurung, a former International player and veteran football coach, gave away the prizes to the winners and the runners-up teams.
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Magazine released
Dehradun, February 19 Hari Ram Nautiyal, a member of the SVP, said the magazine carried articles written by members remembering the anecdotes of their village life.
— TNS
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Waterlogging a bane of Panditwari
Seema Sharma Tribune News Service
Given to this, young and feisty councillor of the ward Navin Bisht had also held a vehement protest on highway in Panditwari recently and blocked the traffic for almost three hours. The police and traffic personnel swung into action and so did the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC). The residents were pacified and ‘kuccha’ drains were dug up to give temporary relief to the residents till a permanent solution was worked upon. Such is the fury among the residents over the lethargic attitude of the administration that they are now resorting to aggressive methods fetching their attention. Bawani, a resident said, “The area was earlier an agriculture land. It has now been developed into a housing colony. Since it is a low-lying area, water stagnates and remains there for days. A small patch turns into a pond within a few weeks. Unlike other colonies, the houses here do not have small drains, which has added to the problem.” Balbir Singh said, “The residents have to look out for other passages to go out of the locality when water stagnates here for months together. It takes us a great deal of time to go to office in the morning.” Not to forget the stagnant water has also given rise to many other complications. Vaishali, a resident, said the huge patches filled with stagnant water became excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes and insects. As the result, residents started to fall ill more often, she added. Ravinder Bisht, another resident, said the PWD prepared a project to build a half-kilometer drainage from Pandtwari to Anurag Nursery at the cost of Rs 22 lakh to solve the problem. Earlier, the PWD had been sleeping over it and now people of Vasant Vihar, who would also be covered under the stretch, have begun opposing this project because the dirty water from Panditwari would then pass across this area. As the situation is getting grim and complicated with the advancement of time, Bisht, too, has become hopeless and is blaming the state administration for not being proactive on the issue. Pointing towards the bad condition of roads in the area, Bisht said it was difficult to walk or drive on such roads. He said the roads were in a terrible condition already and the digging and poor covering of roads for laying sewerage lines has added to their miseries.
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Nainital Diary
The wait for the poll results is proving to be so long not only for the candidates but also for those interested in politics.
Ironically, most of the candidates, particularly from the two main parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, seem to have vanished from the public life for now. The people have been questioning their absence from the daily demonstrations and protests that continue to take place. These protests are being organised by people who are aggrieved on various counts like improper management of basic facilities like the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply, water and power supply or on some other count. Neither are these candidates seen at social gatherings. As a senior bureaucrat summed up, “Their (the candidates’) condition is like the student who has just taken a class X exam and knows his abilities very well. Till the day of the result, such a student is always calculating that he will get close to 30 marks as he is confident of having answered some questions correctly (when 35 is the passing marks) and will eventually make it with the help of grace marks and some flukes.”
The lure of the chair and perks that come with it seems to be too charming to be given up by ministers. Perhaps that is why Cabinet Minister Gobind Singh Bisht is continuing with his ministerial tours despite the fact that he is not going to be even a member in the next state Assembly. While the relaxations given by the Election Commission of India (ECI) with regards to the Model Code of Conduct entitles him to undertake such tours in the capacity of being a minister, the officials and the people are questioning his locus standi to do so when his own party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had not even deemed him fit enough to be given a party ticket to contest the recently conducted poll. As the state in charge of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)/CPI (ML) Raja Bahuguna said, “It is certainly wrong on moral grounds. Such a conduct is morally wrong.” The itinerary being faxed by Bisht’s office to the Information Offices to ensure that he gets the proper media coverage while he goes around taking review meetings. Bisht had been the biggest casualty in the BJP when it came to the denial of ticket as he was dropped like a hot potato by the leadership. He had initially gone on to announce that he would be contesting the poll from the Bhimtal seat from where he had been seeking a ticket but was pacified later by the senior leadership of the party. After being denied a ticket, he had gone on to hold a Mahapanchayat at his residence in Haldwani where he had levelled a series of allegations against the party leadership accusing it of conspiring to give ticket on the basis of personal affiliations and loyalties. Now the officials are pointing, “Is it not strange that he is now eulogising the same government at meetings against which he had rebelled and levelled charges? There is a large segment within the BJP which is of the opinion that Bisht did not deserve to get the ticket and the party leadership set an example by not fielding him from the seat.
Teacher as labourer
It is well said the ability is a poor man’s wealth. It is also true that the poor have been setting examples in the social life over centuries. One such example was set recently by a man named Dilip Upadhyaya who was seen working as a labourer in the Lake City when the winter was at its peak. It came as a big surprise to this correspondent that he is a highly qualified man who is actually employed as an English teacher in Kalikot district of the neighbouring country of Nepal. It was for the sake of making some extra money while the vacations were on in his school in Nepal that he came here to work as a labourer. Speaking in fluent English, he was heard telling, “As there is poverty in Nepal, I have come here to work and earn some money.” He wants to earn extra money for the sake of providing a better education to his four children back home. He said no work was big or small and people should not feel shy of labour. Discussing about this man, the people of Nainital could be heard making varied observations. It was observed that the youth must take a lesson from such people and venture out to earn for their families and their upkeep. They must not shirk work. It was interesting to know that Upadhyaya had been staying with a group of Nepalese labourer and had been sharing a hearth and home with them over the last couple of months.
Recalling tramway
History often comes stumbling out of closets. The same was experienced when it was recently known that during the British era, a train that was more like a tramway was operational between Haldwani and Nandhaur. The papers and photographs of the train are still intact with a former forest official and the remains of the train are still lying on the premises of the Forest Training Institute (FTI) and the Forest Department facility in the Tikoniya area of Haldwani. The documents pertaining to the train are in the possession of a former telephone operator Abdul Aziz ‘Munna’ who is in his mid-eighties. He relates that his father Abdul Hamid had been a foreman on the train that was at that time being operated by the Forest Department. The service had been started in 1920 to transport the bulky wooden blocks and the service had been closed down in 1954. The bogies were auctioned and the rail lines were used in casting pillars. There were three engines that were functional at the time it was shut. Two of these were sent to Gorakhpur while one of them belonging to the John Fowler company had remained stationed in Lal Kuan. It was shifted to FTI in 1989. — By Rajeev Khanna
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Farewell at Oak Grove School
Mussoorie, February 19 The programme was held in the assembly hall of the school. Sandip Trivedi, Principal, Oak Grove School, inaugurated the function by lighting a ceremonial lamp. The outgoing students shared their memories during their stay in the school. Teachers presented several items on the occasion. Gifts were also shared among the students. The Principal wished good luck to the students and said having been equipped with quality education in the school, they were ready to embark upon the journey of success. The students thanked their juniors and staff members for treating them with affection and love while their stay in the school.
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Eight students of Maharana Pratap Sports College were injured in an explosion this afternoon. The incident took place when the victims, in the age group of 12-17 years, picked up a live bombshell.
Dehradun, February 19
