LION’S SHARE
Centre gave Rs 698 crore for rescue missions undertaken by IAF
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 16
For rescuing pilgrims stranded on the way to Badrinath and Kedarnath during the mid-June natural calamity, the Central Government gave the lion’s share, a total of Rs 698 crore, for air-dropping and rescue missions undertaken by the Indian Air Force choppers and aircraft.

While the Central Government had to fork out Rs 698 crore for airdropping and rescue mission from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), it had to spend relatively less, around Rs 20 crore, on the Indian Army, that, too, had played a major role in the rescue missions.

Out of the total Rs 1,187.87 crore sanctioned as gratuitous relief by the Central Government for Uttarakhand in the aftermath of the mid-June natural calamity in which lives were lost and properties damaged under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF), the Central Government had to fork in considerable amount for the Indian Air Force mission.

During the rescue mission the Uttarakhand state had also pressed in private choppers for which a separate amount of Rs 25 crore had also been allocated for the state. Further the Central Government has also borne the costs for clearance of the affected areas of debris etc which has been estimated at Rs 40 crore.

An allocation of ex-gratia payment to families of the deceased at Rs 3.67 crore has also been set aside along with the ex-gratia payment of Rs 82.11 crore for the kin of missing persons.

“The ex-gratia amount for the missing persons was calculated on the basis of 5474 missing persons and the amount would be released to the respective state governments based on the final list,” said Bhaskaranand Joshi, Secretary, Department of Disaster Management.

For repair and restoration of damaged infrastructure a sizeable sum has been earmarked. This included Rs 182.23 crore for roads, Rs 24.50 crore for bridges and culverts, Rs 27.8 crore for repairing damaged water connections.

Significantly, Rs 32.55 crore too has been set aside for bearing losses to land due to landslides and rains. Along with damage to crops and agriculture land several houses, both pucca and kutcha, were damaged. The allocation has been made separately for both the categories.

“In view of the extreme nature of the tragedy, the Uttarakhand government has gone out of its way to provide ex-gratia aid to the people of the state. If we fall short of NDRF funds, the funds from the Chief Minister's Relief fund would be utilised ,” said Joshi.

250 scrub typhus cases reported this year
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 16
The cases of scrub typhus are on the rise in the state for the last one year and more than 250 cases have been reported this year. “No blood tests were conducted on patients who reported these symptoms in the state earlier. But for the last one year specific blood tests are being regularly conducted and the cases of scrub typhus are being reported from private and government hospitals,” said Dr KC Pant from Doon Hospital.

Many precious lives were lost as patients did not come for treatment in time. If a person has high fever and also a tiny black scar on the body, there are chances that he is suffering from scrub typhus. “Scrub typhus is a rare zoonotic disease which can be transmitted from animals to humans through a mite and can get out of hand if the diagnosis and treatment is delayed,” said Dr Harish Basera, general physician and nephrologist at Doon Hospital.

Scrub typhus triggers when mites found in forests bite a person and inject a microorganism called rickettssia tsutsugamushi into the blood. A blood test can confirm the infection, but sometimes doctors treat the symptoms without a blood test on the basis of the scar that lasts for several years. The disease erupts after rain when the mites that live in shrubs are disturbed.

“The entire hill region with dense forests could be termed as the endemic zone and the people, who may have travelled to forests, could be suffering from the disease. The disease is also becoming an urban phenomenon due to the flight of mites,” said Dr Basera.

He said the patients, who reported symptoms of rashes with high fever, responded well to antibiotics such as doxycyclin and others. “Though this vector-borne disease is not a public health problem, it often goes undetected as it surfaces during the dengue and malaria season. However, in the event of a prolonged monsoon it could even surface during January,” he added.

The cases of scrub typhus have been reported from the hills, though sporadically. A team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) had last year visited areas in Pauri from where the cases were reported.

School teachers welcome order of Education Secy
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 16
The State Junior School Teachers’ Association has applauded the recent order of Principal Secretary, Education, S Raju, of prohibiting junior teachers from any activity other than teaching the students in the schools.

According to the association, they have been demanding such arrangement for the last many years “and now the government has listened to us and passed an order, which will benefit lakhs of students who were deprived of quality education due to lack of teachers in their schools”.

Atul Sharma, vice-president of the association, told The Tribune: “Junior teachers were deputed for works such as livestock census, pulse polio campaign, ration card re-registration and as booth-level officers for upgrading voting lists, but now after the order, teachers will be barred from providing their services in such works and will have to perform their primary duty of teaching the students.”

He said that education of small children was getting severely affected due to diversion of teachers to other duties and they were failing to do justice with their primary duty of inculcating education in the children.

“We also demand that teachers should also be detached from overseeing mid-day meals in schools because one teacher has to stand in the kitchen throughout the cooking process by leaving his/her classes. The unemployed youths of villages should be hired to oversee such work, as it will also provide them employment and teachers will be free to take their classes”, Atul Sharma told The Tribune.

Employees’ strike hits work in govt departments
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 16
The working in various departments in the district remained paralysed due to the agitation of the government employees for the third consecutive day today in support of their seven-point charter of demand, sources said.

“The continuing agitation of the government employees has affected the working in the rural development, panchayati raj, agricultural, horticulture and irrigation departments. People are not getting birth and death certificates and permanent resident certificates. The work on surveys for the food security scheme and the OBC category, besides seed distribution and other works in the department of health and horticultural have been affected,” said Jagdish Kumar, a social worker at the district headquarters.

According to an employees’ union spokesman, the state government has ignored their agitation and has not paid heed to their just demands. “We have decided that if the government does not agree to fulfil our demands, we will go on an indefinite strike,” said MC Pant, an employee federation leader.

Ghanshyam Joshi, president the Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari Sangathan, said they started the agitation on a call by the Rajya Karmachari Sanyukt Parishad. They would start an indefinite agitation, if the government did not accept their demands. “In support of their seven demands, including for the promotion pay scale, representatives of our union gathered at Bin in the district headquarters on Wednesday and held a dharna there,” said Joshi.

Family alleges bid to ‘forcibly convert’ son to another religion
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 16
A family residing near Tehri bus stand in Mussoorie has alleged that three persons belonging to one church were forcibly trying to make their son change his religion and become a Christian. Sobhan Singh Gunsola, father of Pradeep Gunsola, arrived early morning yesterday at the police station and filed a complaint against three persons, Motilal, resident of village Katkhait, Tehri Garhwal,Sundar Singh, resident of Agyarna village of Thatyur block and Aman Kumar, resident of Bheel colony, Doiwala, and pastor Aashish of AG Church, Mussoorie. He alleged that the persons were trying to make Pradeep change his religion to Christianity.

Sobhan Singh Gunsola further said his son was being lured with lucrative offers to join the Christianity, and his son, falling in the trap, was toeing their line.

The investigating officer, Senior Sub-Inspector RP Sati, acting on the complaint, took the persons in custody for further investigation around noon. On the other hand, the persons have refuted the claims of forcible conversion and said that Pradeep was acting on his own will and they had nothing to do with his inclination towards Christianity. Later in evening, the when SSI RP Sati was contacted once again, he informed the media that both parties had come to a compromise after the intervention of the local ward member of the area, Ramesh Bhandari, and Sobhan Singh Gunsola has taken back his complaint.

However, the residents of the area under the condition of anonymity have alleged that such organisations are active in the region in large numbers and are involved in the exercise of conversion to another religion of the poor and innocent people. They have demanded that a thorough investigation should be made into such units to find out from where they were receiving the funds to convert people into their religion.

Conversion row

• Sobhan Singh Gunsola filed a complaint against Motilal, Sundar Singh, Aman Kumar and pastor Aashish of AG Church, Mussoorie, for trying to convert his son Pradeep Gunsola to Christianity
• Senior Sub-Inspector RP Sati, acting on the complaint, took the persons in custody for investigations
• Later in the evening, the investigating officer informed the media that both parties had arrived at a compromise after local ward member Ramesh Bhandari intervened

Poor material used to recarpet Haridwar roads, allege residents
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 16
Local people have flayed the re-carpeting work being carried out by the Public Work Department in Haridwar allegedly due to low quality material being used. Residents alleged the use of sub-standard and low quality material in the laying of the city inner road. Recarpeting work is being done on the Shankar Ashram-Devpura stretch, which had been dug up for the past one year owing to laying of sewers.

Residents are angry that within just a month, the road construction work had started showing signs of degradation. At regular intervals, the concrete material used was caving in and several potholes had been formed, they alleged.

Social activist Sanjay Chopra has demanded a probe in the matter and action against the Public Works Department.

The residents also complained that on numerous occasions, roads were dug up by various government agencies, but they were not covered fully.

They alleged that contractors used low quality, cheap material after giving commission to certain government authorities.

“Be it the roads from the Mahakumbh time or the newly recarpeted roads, everywhere sub-standard material is being used and contractors are misusing the money which the public pays via taxes,” said Chopra. He urged the people to resort to an agitation if the city's inner road was not rebuilt.

However, PWD officials refuted allegation of use of sub-standard raw material being used. An official cited the heavy monsoon and plying of vehicles immediately after the roads were recarpeted as the reasons for potholes.

Swami Vivekananda Sandesh Yatra reaches Mussoorie
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 16
The Swami Vivekananda Sandesh Yatra that began from Bawri Mazid in Dehradun reached Mussoorie today. It is being organized under the aegis of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) with an objective to spread the message of the great spiritual leader.

The ABVP workers, led by state joint secretary of the party Ashish Bahuguna, raised slogans and marched from Picture Palace to Library Bazaar. They appealed to the people to follow the path shown by Vivekananda.

The local ABVP and BJP members welcomed the yatra and joined the procession with others. Later a meeting was also held at Library Bazaar where Ganesh Joshi, MLA, Mussoorie, highlighted the facts about Vivekananda’s life. He said Vivekananda’s words that “India will be saved by Indians alone” were of big importance in the present scenario as the youth of the country has the power to eradicate all social evils.

He said in the present political and social scenario it had become imperative to apprise the youth of the country about Vivekananda’s teachings and philosophy so that they could stand up against corruption to make India corruption free.

The ABVP workers took a pledge to spread Vivekananda’s message among the masses. BJP local unit president Roop Singh Kathait, BJYM co-coordinator Ajay Bhandari, local BJP secretary Kushal Singh Rana, vice-president Mohan Petwal and others were present.

‘Kumaon most backward from rail link point of view’
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 16
Describing the Kumaon region as the most backward from the railways transportation point of view, leaders of the Tanakpur-Bageswar Rail Path Nirman Sangharsh Samiti have demanded the construction of railway lines for the people of the region.

Samiti chairman Gangagiri Goswami said in a letter written to the Railway Minister, besides detailing the budget for the railway line from Tanakpur to Bageshwar, they have sought broad gauge lines from Tanakpur to New Delhi, Lucknow, Dehradun and Bareilly. “We have also written to the Railway Minister that a seperate construction authority be made on the pattern of the Konkan Railway of Maharashtra,” he said.

The samiti also wants a rail line from Tanakpur to Haldwani, Ramnagar, Kotdwar and Dehradun. “Even railway officers agree that the Tanakpur region is the most backward region in the country from the rail link and facilities point of view,” said Goswami.

The samiti has demanded that work on the Tanakpur-Jauljibi rail line be given priority as it was strategically significant. “We have cited the logic of our backwardness on all social and economic indexes due to lack of sufficient railways transportation in the region,” said Goswami.

Rural development ministry to hold workshops
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 16
The Union Rural Development Ministry has decided to conduct workshops in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to discuss the adoption of right techniques for the construction of hill roads. Union Minister for Water Resources and Haridwar MP Harish Rawat had recently written to Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh expressing his concern over rampant blasting being undertaken in Uttarakhand for the speedy construction of roads.

In the letter, Rawat said a number of roads were being constructed in Uttarakhand hills under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and heavy machinery and explosives were being used for the purpose, leading to frequent landslides. Suggesting the usage of light machinery, Rawat has called for minimum road cuttings.

The Union Water Resources Minister also stressed the need for tree plantation to check soil erosion. “Further, the width of roads must be decided as per the requirement. In many cases, it is seen that road is unnecessary widened,” said Rawat.

Taking note of Harish Rawat’s suggestions, Jairam Ramesh said besides the adoption of right techniques, the issues of providing cross drainage, maintaining proper slope and bank stablisation would be taken up for discussions at these workshops.

Workable models on renewable energy displayed
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 16
WWF-India, a two-day fair on renewable energy, concluded here yesterday. Dr Jatinder Kaur, Coordinator, WWF-India, Dehradun programme office, said the fair was held in partnership with Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Authority. It was aimed at demonstrating practical renewable energy solutions for homes and institutions. Renewable energy manufacturers, who had set up stalls to showcase their products.

Representatives from the Himalayan Environment Scientists Conservation Organisation and other solar companies like RESS, ADOS and SHRI SOLAR displayed different workable models for solar and other renewable resource powered appliances. A series of activities and workshops were organised to raise awareness about renewable energy solutions and address queries of individuals.

On the concluding day, prizes were given to the winners of poster and quiz making competition. BC Choudhury, HS Uniyal, Dr Harish Zarra Kidwai were among the prominent persons present.

Mahashir angling competition from today
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 16
Anglers from different parts of the world, including four from Uttarakhand, will take part in the five-day international angling competition of endangered fish Mahashir, the cold water fish of the Himalayas, from tomorrow. It is being organised on the Pancheshwar confluence of the Saryu and the Kali rivers in Champawat district from October 17 to 21.

“The competition, which is being organised jointly by the Forest Department and Drishtikon, a charitable trust, will be on the basis of catch and relieve of Mahashir by anglers after measuring their length and weight,” said Saikat Das, organiser of the competition.

The competition is being organised at Pancheshwar for the last 10 years. It was meant for the preservation of cold water fish in the Himalayan rivers, including Mahashir, the number of which was decreasing rapidly due to various reasons.

“We have witnessed Mahashir weigh up to 58 pounds in the Kali. This record is likely to be broken this time,” he added.

Singapore Information Day celebrated
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 16
Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore Information Day was celebrated at Unison World School, here, today. The event was the result of a joint association between Lasalle College of Arts, Singapore, and Unison World School, Dehradun. The participants were students from Grade XI and XII.

Many schools of the town like Hopetown School, Welham Girls’ School and Kasiga School also participated in the celebrations.

The team of Boon Hee, Freddy, Mrinal Singh and Ria Briganza represented the prestigious Lasalle College of Arts. The event was interactive as students’ queries were answered to their satisfaction.

It was followed by a quiz and prize distribution.