Max hospital gets burn facilities unit 
Dehradun, February 21
The intensive care treatment required for burn patients is now available at Dehradun-based Max Super Speciality Hospital where an 11-year-old school girl was successfully treated.

Dehradun, February 21
Leader of the Opposition in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) Ashok Verma and MLA, Rajpur Road, Rajkumar, told mediapersons here today that the state government in a government order (GO) issued yesterday made it clear that the DMC and the Nagar Palika would levy house tax at the old rate and it would not be hiked.

Rajkumar said due to negligence and lethargy on its part the DMC did not impose the house tax on the people of 18 gram sabhas after these were brought under its ambit in 1998. This had caused a revenue loss of at least Rs 10 crore to the DMC.

However, Mayor Vinod Chamoli said there was nothing of the sort mentioned in the GO as claimed by Rajkumar and Verma. The government rather gave instructions to make the assessment and collection of the tax according to the Municipal Corporation Act 1959 and the Nagar Palika Act 1916.

Chamoli showed a copy of the GO duly signed by the Secretary, Department of Urban Development, MH Khan. The present GO cancelled the earlier order issued on July 19, 2010, that gave direction for maintaining the assessment and collection of the tax on the old pattern until the procedure for improving the tax structure was finalised.

In the second section, the GO said the house tax should be assessed according to the Municipal Corporation Act 1959 and the Nagar Palika Act 1916.

Verma said he had vehemently opposed the Mayor’s move to enhance the tax according to the parameters of self-assessment. He had raised the issue along with other Congress councillors at all possible platforms. “The geographical and economic conditions of Uttarkahand are different from that of Uttar Pradesh. Hence, it is not feasible to adopt the UP’s house tax pattern. Neither the residents of the city nor slum-dwellers can bear the exorbitant house tax,” Verma added.

He said 7,708 objections to the proposed self-assessment initiative received from the residents showed how unpopular it was.

The MLA said the DMC officials had been negligent in their duty all these years and did not impose the tax on 65,000 residents of the 18 gram sabhas, who were also willing to pay it in order to avail of loans and benefits of development policies.

Verma too criticised the DMC saying it could not use its land in various areas or land that had been encroached upon by the mafia or slum-dwellers to build commercial buildings, hospitals or education institutions to generate good revenue. He regretted that he could not realise his dream of seeing a hospital on the lines of the CMI Hospital built on the DMC land.

Chamoli refuted the allegations saying earlier the Congress never spoke about levying the tax on the residents of the 18 gram sabhas and when he took over as Mayor the Congress councilors did not let him do so. They always opposed him tooth and nail. The Mayor said the state government and the Congress councillors had been creating obstacles in his way, otherwise, he would have carried out a lot of development in the city.

Dehradun, February 21
The intensive care treatment required for burn patients is now available at Dehradun-based Max Super Speciality Hospital where an 11-year-old school girl was successfully treated. While playing on the roof top of her house on January 19, 2013, Anita Negi had accidentally came in contact with a high tension electricity wire resulting in an electric shock and burns.

She was suffering from 35-40 per cent deep burns on her face, neck, chest, abdomen and both her upper limbs, when she was brought to Max Hospital.

“In these incidents, prompt action is required and the availability of specialised care nearby can boost the chances of a patient’s recovery,” said Dr Vipin Barthwal, plastic cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon, while speaking with mediapersons today.

Anita’s left hand was severely burnt and swollen. Emergency surgery was performed to save her right hand and remove the burnt skin, which would have been a source of infection. Her condition deteriorated as she developed signs of kidney failure.

After about one week of intensive care and treatment, Anita showed the signs of recovery and plastic surgery was performed in the form of skin grafting to expedite healing of wounds.

“Now Anita has been successfully treated and is coming for regular check ups. She will be requiring further treatment in the form of splintage and physiotherapy,” said Dr Barthwal. Dr Vipin Barthwal received support from the team of critical care doctors, anaesthetists, pyschotherapists, physiotherapists, dieticians and nurses of the hospital.

Haridwar, February 21
The impact of the nationwide strike called by various trade unions was felt in Haridwar for the second consecutive day today with business transactions worth Rs 200 crore getting affected.

All banks and insurance company offices remained closed as their employees stayed away from work and staged a protest to highlight the 11-point demand charter of the trade unions.

Bank officials said the daily transactions of all nationalised and private banks in Haridwar district was about Rs 100 crore and this added to a loss of Rs 200 crore in two days. For commuters it was another agonizing day as they waited for government buses at the local bus station but they never arrived.

The bus station wore a deserted look while the youth used the opportunity to play cricket there. The hapless commuters were seen enquiring about alternative modes of transport. Many shops outside the bus station remained closed due to the strike.

Employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited also joined the strike and the BSNL-Empolyees Union held a protest on the city office premises. Yashvir Singh, district secretary of the union, said the Central government had broken the back of the common man and the poor were living in pathetic conditions.

He added that it was a symbolic strike this time and if the government did not pay heed to their demands they would launch bigger agitations. The impact of the strike was also seen at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). Convener of the BHEL Sanyukta Sangarsh Morcha SK Sharma said 80 per cent to 85 per cent of the work was affected at BHEL as most of the employees went on strike along with the 21-odd trade unions.

The Municipal Corporation also wore a deserted look as all employee unions like the Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Congress, the Nagar Nikay Karamchari Mahasangh and the Uttarakhand Swachakar Mahasangh joined the strike.

The Sanyukta Mazdoor Sangh and the ITC Mazdoor Sangh at the Integrated Industrial Estate-SIDCUL also went on strike though its impact was less due to a fewer trade unions in the 100-odd companies there.

Mussoorie, February 21
As many as 83 students from Government Inter-College, Godhakhori, in the Jaunpur block visited the historic Lakhamandal temple and caves around 80 kilometres from Mussoorie. They were on an educational trip under the Rashtriya Madhyamaik Shiksha Abhiyan today.

The students also visited Government Girls Inter-College at Lakhamandal and interacted with the students and exchanged scientific and historic knowledge with each other. Uday Gaur, biology lecturer and coordinator of the college, Godakhori, informed the students about the historic importance of the temple at Lakhamandal which was believed to be established during the Pandava era. He also took the students to the adjacent caves and apprised them about their importance too.

Uday Gaur said the Pandavas had visited the area during their exile and hidden themselves in these caves according to the Mahabharata. The students, while interacting with around 175 tribal girl students, discussed the ways to remove social taboos such as female foeticide here. The students also laid emphasis on preserving the environment and creating awareness towards the girl child education.

Seema, a student from Government Inter-College, Godakhori, said in today’s world, it was of utmost importance to save the girl child and the students could take a lead in creating awareness on such issues.

The students also visited the museum and studied the artifacts kept there from ancient times in order to enhance their historical knowledge of Lakhamandal.

The students also presented several traditional folk dance and song numbers on the occasion.

Mussoorie, February 21
Residents of George Everest House have been facing acute drinking water crisis due to the neglect of the authorities for the past several decades.

The residents of the area lamented the fact that political representatives promised them regular drinking water supply but nothing had been done so far forcing them to fetch the water from natural springs situated several kilometres away.

The Sir George Everest area falls under the Ward no 11 of the Mussoorie Municipal Council where more than 20 families have been living from several decades without any adequate drinking water supply by the Jal Sansthan despite repeated reminders.

Govind Singh, local resident of the area, rued the fact that the newly constructed houses of the rich and powerful here are getting water supply but as they are poor, officials have failed to provide them even one common tap for their needs.

Meena Devi, another resident, said they had to fetch water from the forest area several kilometres away daily with fear of the wild animal attack looming large.

The residents demanded the drinking water supply and if their demands were not met they would be forced to protest.

President, Municipal Council, OP Uniyal said he had already written a letter to the Jal Sansthan in this regard and directed it to provide the drinking water supply.

Dehradun, February 21
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said here today that in India, there was respect for all religions and there was no place for narrow mindedness in Indian culture and traditions.

“Respecting all religions is our tradition and is also enshrined in our Constitution," said the Chief Minister while inaugurating the National Integration Camp organised at a resort in Sahastradhara by Nehru Yuwa Kendra.

The Chief Minister said the message of brotherhood given by Swami Vivekananda at the congress of World Religions at Chicago would remain relevant.

“He introduced the world to the message of the Hindu religion.”

The CM welcomed the participants from other states and said Devbhumi Uttarakhand was a mirror of India’s culture and heritage. He said India was the nation of young people and they must come forward to contribute towards its progress.

National deputy chairman of Nehru Yuwa Kendra VP Singh spoke about the history and activities of the kendra.

Young people from J&K, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are participating in the camp which will conclude on February 26. Vijay Saraswat, state general secretary of the Congress, addressed the audience. Cultural programmes were presented by the youth from J&K and Rajasthan.

Dehradun, February 21
All Navodaya Vidyalyas in Uttarakhand will have solar heating systems installed by the next academic session.

Five Navodaya Vidyalyas will be equipped with the solar heating system that will provide hot bathing and drinking facilities.

The cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 80 lakh with 10 per cent of the contribution being made by the Department of Education.

“We have worked out the arrangement with the Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) and hopefully by the next academic session, we will be able to fully install the system,” said RK Sudhanshu, Director, school education.

Haridwar, February 21
In view of the younger generation getting influenced by the western culture, tobacco and alcohol consumption and getting distanced from ethics, a special programme was held today at Bal Mandir, Sector-1, here today.

The focus was on the passing out students of Class XII and Class X, who will be entering a new phase of life after school education gets completed.

School teacher Subash Kashyap stressed on the need of having moral teachings in life as these make them better equipped to decide what is right or wrong.

He cited many an incident of the persons who achieved great heights but never compromised with their conscience and faith.

Meanwhile, at Government Intermediate College, Laundara, a science exhibition was held in which students demonstrated their scientific and creative talent.

District Education Officer OP Verma lauded the efforts of youngsters and said one could gauge the ample talent that the younger generation has, particularly in the rural areas.

Mohammed Nasir was adjudged the winner for his display model of solar and lunar eclipse. Sawan Kumar for his solar panel model and Firoz Ali for wind energy creation were selected in the top three.

Prize distribution was done by Government Higher Secondary School, Nizampur, Principal Ataullah Khan in the presence of host school staff Dr Devi Singh, Raj Kumar Saini, Dr Kuldeep Saini and Rajendra Sharma.