Decision on the fate of Uttarakhand CM soon
Sonia likely to send an AICC observer to the state to gauge mood of MLAs before taking any decision
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 27
A decision on the fate of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is expected to be taken by this week with Congress President Sonia Gandhi holding a high level meeting of party strategists ahead of taking a final call on Saturday. A section of legislators in the state have been seeking replacement of the CM ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

Sources in the AICC indicated that a decision on Bahuguna’s continuation or otherwise would be taken in a week. Sonia is likely to depute an observer of the All India Congress Committee to visit Uttarakhand early next week and talk to legislators about what they thought on the controversial matter.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad attended the top-level meeting chaired by Sonia on Saturday, indicating that he might be asked to visit Uttarakhand as the AICC observer to hold talks with the MLAs before the party arrives at a final decision.

The meeting held at Sonia’s residence was also attended by her political secretary Ahmed Patel and AICC general secretaries in charge of the organisation and Uttarakhand Janardan Dwivedi and Ambika Soni respectively.

A top Congress leader indicated that a decision on the controversial issue would be taken in week. The camp of another Uttarakhand leader Harish Rawat, currently water resources minister in the Centre, has been pressing for Bahuguna’s ouster for a long time now.

“The party will announce the decision within a week,” said sources.

The issue had earlier been debated in the Congress core group in December end and it was decided that a final call on the fate of the CM would be taken after the assembly session in the state.

Developments at the meeting…

• Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad attended the top-level meeting chaired by Sonia on Saturday, indicating that he might be asked to visit Uttarakhand as the AICC observer to hold talks with the MLAs before the party arrives at a final decision.
• Harish Rawat, who is currently serving as water resources minister at the Centre, has been pressing for Bahuguna's ouster for a long time now.

Republic day celebrations
Take inspiration from martyrs, says Hriyadesh
Tribune News Service

School girls present a colourful cultural dance during the Republic Day celebrations at BHEL stadium in Haridwar on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Haridwar, January 27
Cabinet Minister for Finance, Revenue, Uttarakhand government, Indira Hriyadesh, urged people to take inspiration from martyrs and freedom fighters who gave up their life for sake of Independence. Hriyadesh,who is also in charge minister for Haridwar district, was speaking at the Republic Day function as chief guest held on Sunday at Roshanabad-based Police Lines.

Extending wishes to the people on Republic Day, Indira Hriyadesh said that relations between Centre and state are best explained via democratic set-up and to effectively maintain this set-up Indian Constitution was constituted on January 26, 1950.

''India is a large country in respect of geography, culture and population, with no other country having such diversity, an aspect which we should be proud of and it is our duty to conserve this culture,'' said Indira, who first made it to Uttar Pradesh legislative council in 1974.

Urging people to cast their votes in the upcoming elections, Hriyadesh said that casting votes is a fundamental right, which needs to be exercised to strengthen this democratic process.

Terming press fraternity as the fourth pillar of democracy, she called on media personnel to be more sensitive towards varied issues that affect the society.

Relating to the recent Lokpal Bill enacted by the Central Government and Lokayukta Act by Uttarakhand state government, Hriyadesh said that

corruption along with unemployment were the two main issues affecting the country directly, which need to be eradicated for prosperity of the country.

At collectorate district administration office, Roshanabad, District Magistrate Nidhi Pandey unfurled the Indian Tricolour, reading out the pledge of the Indian Constitution and hoped that all the collectorate employees will keep up to the faith and responsibilities of the Indian Constitution.

ADM Alok Pandey, ADM Jeevan Singh Nangiyal, SDM Sohan Singh Saini, Deputy Collector Veer Singh Budhiyal, Dr Naresh Chaudhari, KK Mishra and Maya Dutt Joshi among other administrative personnel were present at the function.

At Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a cultural kaleidoscopic cultural programme was held at the main stadium.

Central Industrial Security Force personnel carried out the parade march accompanied by a musical band that churned out varied patriotic tunes.

Executive Director Prakash Chand (HEEP unit) and SVS Naryana (CFFP unit) hoisted the flag and took the salute of the parade marching contingents.

Tableaux depicting varied social issues, Kedarnath shrine rescue and relief operations,cultural diversity of Uttarakhand, voting awareness, corruption, India's Mars mission, Mangalyaan, Right to Education and Bharat Ratna were much applauded by the jam-packed audience.

Padma Bhushan for Ruskin Bond delights fans in Mussoorie
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 27
The announcement of Padma Bhushan for Ruskin Bond, the famed writer from Mussoorie, has brought delight on the faces of fans, friends and well-wishers alike in Mussoorie. Ruskin Bond, who was awarded Padma Shree in 1999, is the only person from the state to receive the Padma Bhushan. The awards were announced on the eve of the 65th Republic Day celebrations in Delhi.

Elated, Ruskin Bond celebrated the occasion by signing autographs for the fans at the Cambridge Book Depot on January 26.

The versatile writer from Mussoorie arrived around 3.30 pm at Cambridge Book Depot and was immediately surrounded by fans, especially children, from various schools who congratulated him by presenting flower bouquet and in return were blessed with autographs by Ruskin Bond. Ruskin Bond, speaking to The Tribune, said that he was immensely glad at receiving the award and thanked the government, fans and friends for the support they have given him all the years.

Ruskin Bond said that the announcement of the award was indeed a great day in his life and said that he was reminded of the same feeling that he had when he unfurled the National Flag at the boarding school in Shimla when he was prefect during Independence Day celebrations in 1947.He was 12 years old then.

Ruskin Bond, speaking on the completion of 65 years of the Indian Republic, said that India had changed in more than 100 ways and the biggest change is the population that has grown substantially.

Ruskin Bond further said that another change which he had felt that urban areas had grown while the rural areas are shrinking day by day, but the general outlook for the country is looking good and that is a soothing feeling for all.

Speaking about the changes among the children he said: “The children are the same but the only thing is now they have to work harder as school curriculum has become extensive, resulting in heavy school bags which even I cannot lift.” Ruskin Bond was of the view that the educationists should think of making education entertaining and organise it in such a way that studies do not become a burden on the children, both physically and mentally. Another author from Mussoorie Ganesh Saili, who is a close friend from the past 50 years, was of the view that “Ruskin is the only writer in Mussoorie while we are typewriters.” Saili said that it was indeed a great honour for the town that the author from Mussoorie had been bestowed with the prestigious national award such as Padma Bhushan. The stunning simplicity of language and an innate intimacy with nature had been Ruskin’s hallmark.

His first novel named “Room on the Roof,” a semi-autobiographical story on the life of an orphaned Anglo-Indian boy, reflected parts of his own life when he was 17 years of age. The book made him win the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize that is awarded to British Commonwealth writers who are under the age of 30.

His novella, ''A Flight of Pigeons,'' set against the backdrop of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, was adapted for the silver screen as ''Junoon'' by acclaimed director Shyam Benegal. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, and has received the Sahitya Akademi Award for English writing for his short stories' collection, "Our Trees Still Grown in Dehra." He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. Sunil Arora, a close friend and owner of the Cambridge Book Depot, said that Ruskin Bond had brought laurels not only to his family but to the hill town of Mussoorie from where he keeps churning out new books with no signs of retirement.

Padma Shree for ace climber Dharamshaktu brings cheer
Tribune News service

Mussoorie, January 27
The mountaineering fraternity of the state is delighted at the announcement of Padma Shree for Loveraj Dharamshaktu, an Assistant Commandant with the Border Security Force, who is the first Indian to scale the world's highest peak five times in a row. The ace climber is involved in a campaign of keeping the Himalayan peaks, including Mt. Everest clean of garbage left by mountaineers over the years.

Speaking to The Tribune Loveraj Dharmashaktu, elated at receiving the award, said that it really was a great honour for a soldier like him to be named for one of the prestigious awards in the country.

Love raj further said that with this award he would be motivated to work for the well being of the people and share his experience of mountains wherever required.

Loveraj Dharamshaktu has recently spent around five months in providing basic survival skills to the people affected by the mid-June natural disaster in Kedarnath region.

“Everything cannot be left to the government and it is the responsibility of all concerned, including corporate houses under CSR, to contribute effectively during the natural disaster such as in Kedarnath that affected livelihood of several thousands,'' said Dharamshaktu.

The ace climber was of the view that most people died due to ignorance and lack of knowledge about basic survival techniques.

Elaborating further he said that most of the deaths occurred when the affected persons rushed to the jungles for shelter and sat under a tree without making any movement, thus dying of cold and hunger.

Dharamshaktu said that the disaster management agencies should focus on training at least 10 per cent people in the area about the basic survival techniques so they can be of some assistance to the people during adverse conditions in the country.

He further said that the basic survival technique should be made part of the school curriculum and become a regular feature year after year if the country wanted to fight disasters, be it man-made or induced by nature. He also said that the corporate houses should also try to train their staff with such skills so that they can react as a quick response unit and save lives in case of any fire or earthquake in their institution.

Speaking about his future plans the BSF Assistant Commandment who was born in the town of Munsiari, amidst the Pancholi range in Uttarakhand, said that he had several plans for future but climbing mountains will always remain as the his first love, and with sponsors to back, he would make another attempt to Mount Everest in the near future.

102-yr-old unfurls National Flag on R-Day in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 27
Republic Day was celebrated in the hill town of Mussoorie with the unfurling of the Tricolour, here on Sunday. The flag hoisting ceremony was organised at various government and non-government offices such as the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Academy, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy for Administration and the Municipal Council premises.

Prabhat pheris were also organised by MC ward members to mark the occasion. The hill town reverberated with patriotic songs sung by schoolchildren of various schools in the town. The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru were also garlanded as a mark of respect.

The national flag was hoisted at Landour Chowk by 102-year-old Ganga Dhar Bahuguna, an educationist and a senior citizen, at a public function.

Speaking on the occasion, Bahuguna appealed everyone to fight against corruption, poverty and hunger in the country and live up to the expectations of the great leaders of the country who took immense pain to draft the Indian Constitution.

School students from Sanatan Dharam Inter-College sang patriotic sons that were appreciated by the audience.

Chief guest MLA Ganesh Joshi presented a shawl and a citation to music teacher Chandralekha Tripathi for her exemplary service in the field to the children of the town free of cost. Ambulance driver of Sant Nirankari Mission was also felicitated for his exemplary service by NGO Sadhbhavna on the occasion.

At ITBP Academy the Director Harbhajan Singh hoisted the national flag at the Parade Ground here. The family members of the ITBP Jawans, popularly known as ‘Himveers’, presented several patriotic and cultural items. The chief guest presented citation and awards to several officers of the force for their exemplary service on the occasion.

Events

• Prabhat pheris were also organised by MC ward members to mark the occasion. The hill town reverberated with patriotic songs sung by schoolchildren of various schools
• The National Flag was hoisted at Landour Chowk by 102-year-old Ganga Dhar Bahuguna, an educationist and a senior citizen, at a public function

Guv unfurls Tricolour at Raj Bhavan on R-Day
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
Governor Aziz Qureshi hoisted the National Flag during the Republic Day celebrations at Raj Bhavan on Sunday. He paid rich tributes to freedom fighters and great leaders of the nation. On behalf of the people of the state and the country, he expressed gratitude and respect towards their sacrifice.

Secretary to the Governor Arun Dhaundiyal and Additional Secretary D Senthyl Pandian were present on the occasion.

Later, the Governor also unfurled the Tricolour at the Parade Ground and took the salute from the passing parade.

Tableaux of 10 state departments were exhibited as part of the parade.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, Mayor Vinod Chamoli, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, DGP BS Sidhu and many other senior officials were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar hoisted the National Flag at the Secretariat. Students of Government Girls Inter-College sang patriotic songs on the occasion.

He praised officials and workers of the Secretariat for efficiently handling the situation post the disaster last year. He said the officials worked with the utmost dedication to provide relief and rescue in the disaster-hit areas.

A programme was also organised at the police headquarters to mark the Republic Day celebrations. DGP BS Sindhu hoisting the National Flag in the presence of all senior officials and other staff.

Govt has set up 4 engg colleges, 25 polytechnics, 20 IITs: CM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
The Congress-led government in Uttarakhand in its two years of rule has set up four engineering colleges, 25 polytechnics, 20 ITIs and 10 degree colleges. The sanctioned money has also been released for the same. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at a review meeting said the previous BJP government in the state had started only two engineering colleges, 12 polytechnics, 15 ITIs and five degree colleges in five years.

He said the recruitment drive for 800 posts in the Higher Education Department and 1,500 posts in the Technical Education Department would begin soon.

The Chief Minister said the state government was committed to providing quality education and focusing on employment-oriented education. Fifteen degree colleges were being identified and they would be provided computers, communication equipment and other facilities. Meritorious students would be provided high-level coaching for competitive exams.

He also gave directions for providing bus services to students of degree colleges in the state. Considering excess students in DAV College, directions were given to establish a new college with a student capacity of 5,000 at Raipur.

About his meeting with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister said only Rs 74 crore had been released for the repair of roads while the work required Rs 300 crore. He had written to the Prime Minister on the issue.

Bahuguna added that the state government was ready to provide funds to the BRO for the construction of roads at earmarked places. The BRO officials had been instructed to give the details of the material required. Vijay Pal Sajwan, S Rawat, Rajendra Bhandari, Harish Dhami, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma and BRO officials were present at the meeting.

Bleak future despite RTE Act
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
Despite the implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the disadvantaged children in the Uttarakhand face a bleak future due to absence of teachers and learning material, a status report prepared by the National Council in Education Research and Training has said.

During the survey, it came to light that teachers with special education were deployed in these schools, but they were not imparted training to handle children with disabilities.

“Under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a provision of Rs 3,000 per disabled children per year has been made. None of the sampled schools had special educational materials for any category of children with disabilities,” said the report released by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development that tried to access the changes that RTE had brought in the lives of the children with disabilities.

Despite the presence of National Institute of Visually Handicapped in Dehradun, “the braille material was not supplied to the children in the districts by the National Institute of Visually Handicapped despite repeated reminders,” said the report.

These children in the state continue to suffer due to absence of trainers, the report prepared by National Council of Education Research Training (NCERT) in its report has said.

In order to guage the impact of the RTE, the districts of Nainital and Almora were selected for indepth study based on high population of ST/SC/BPL and children with disabilities (challenged children). The interview and questionnaire methods were used while carrying out the survey.

As far as children with disabilities were concerned, the assessment camps were conducted in Nainital and Almora districts to access type, degree and severity of various disabilities and aid/ appliances were provided. These aids and appliances included hearing aids for hearing impaired.

Interestingly, some of the schools for disabled children were running from rented buildings and the teachers did not have extra time for the differently challenged children due to their preoccupation with other work like conduct of elections etc.

Sports
GNDU, Amritsar, win Baria cricket tourney
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
GNDU Amritsar won the prestigious All-India Universities Inter Zonal Rohinton Baria Cricket Tournament after defeating MDU Rohtak in the finals here today. Interestingly, the four-day final match got draw but GNDU Amritsar was pronounced winner of the match on the basis of its 1st innings lead on MDU Rohtak.

MDU Rohtak batted first and scored 412 runs in its 1st innings while GNDU Amritsar team scored 638 runs.

For Amritsar, Ravindar Pal Singh, Mohit Handa and Aurush Sabarwal scored centuries. Whereas, for MDU, Vinnet scored 94 runs in the 1st innings while Mohit and Pankaj chipped in with cameos.

On the last day, MDU team was batting on 57 runs at the loss of 3 wickets when the match was ended in a draw. Though, GNDU Amritsar was announced as the winner as it had a lead of 226 runs over MDU in the 1st innings.

Governor Aziz Qureshi was the chief guest during the closing ceremony and he gave the awards to the winning team members.

Ravindar Singh Pal of GNDU Amritsar was adjudged player of the tournament for his consistent batting performance throughout the tournament and Aurush Sabarwal was given the best batsman award. It is to be noted that 10 university teams from five zones participated in the tournament, which started on January 17.

Rape and murder case
Police announce cash reward

Haridwar, January 27
The Haridwar police have announced a cash reward for anyone who gives vital inputs regarding involvement of culprits in the rape-murder case of a class VII schoolgirl.

Circle officer, Kankhal, Chandra Mohan Singh Negi, said anyone having any vital clue or info that helps the police reach the culprits, will be given a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh. Negi said anyone having such information could contact him, Station House Officer, Pathri, Pherupur police check post in charge, or can write to him or SSP, Haridwar directly.

“We will keep this a secret. Details of the individual providing us this information will not be disclosed. Five separate investigating teams are conducting investigations into this case with help of Special Operations Group.But as from the crime scene ,no substantial human or scientific evidence has been available. ''We have resorted to this cash initiative,” said Negi.

Meanwhile, several social-political organisations as well as local people staged a protest owing to delay in the arrest of the culprits in this

Notably, last week Deputy Inspector General, Garhwal, Amti Sinha, had camped for six days at Pherupur village,but still no conclusive revelation had been reached by the police, which has evoked mass resentment among villagers and public. — TNS

Padma Shree for village doc
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, January 27
Dr Jiwan Singh Titiyal, a recipient of the prestigious civil award Padam Shri on the eve of Republic Day, is a resident of Tidang village of Darma valley close to Indo-Nepal border in Dharchula sub division of Pithoragarh district. Born in his native village Tidang, Dr Titiyal did his primary education from a primary school in Dharchula.

“Talented and practical right from his childhood, Titiyal used to help other students from the village to cross the tough terrains to reach school on the way which was 6km away,” said Givind Singh Titiyal, his younger brother, also an eye surgeon and a professor at Susheela Tiwari Medical College, Haldwani. After his schooling from Dharchula, Jiwan Singh shifted to Lucknow for further studies and did MBBS course from AIIMS in New Delhi.

“He did his medical graduation and thereafter MD from AIIMS and started job at the institute after completing his studies. He is still working there at the Rajendra Prasad eye institute in AIIMS,” said Dr Govind.

Known for his expertise in cornea transplantation, Dr Titiyal holds to his credit the successful eye operation of eminent personalities including, Dalai Lama, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, ex-Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, BJP leader Dr Murali Manohar Joshi and Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal.

“Titiyal is the first Indian eye surgeon who conducted live cornea transplantation at American academy two years ago and got international fame,” said Dr Govind.

Dr Titiyal is also working as the President of the Delhi Ophthalmology Society. He has several international awards to his credit and had been the advisor of the Union Public Service Commission.

Villager injured in bear attack
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 27
A resident of Gandiala village near Kempty was grievously injured after a bear attacked him in broad day light near his village on late Saturday. The victim was brought to St Mary's hospital in Mussoorie where he got more than 50 stitches post-attack.

Chandarpal Singh, 27, was cutting grass for fodder in the nearby forest around noon, when a black Himalayan bear attacked Chandarpal injuring him grievously. Sikandar Rawat another villager who was working at his water mill nearby, heard Chandarpal's cries for help and rushed to the spot. He managed to rescue Chandarpal from the clutches of the bear.

Chandarpal was then rushed to St Mary's Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. According to the medical staff the victim was administered rabies vaccine and some parts of his body were stitched as they were gouged out by the wild beast.

Neelam Bartwal, Forest Range Officer, Kempty, also rushed to spot and began the exercise to provide compensatory relief to the victim.

Incidents of bear attacks have been on a rise in the state. Around 425 incidents of bear attack have been reported since 2000 in Uttarakhand.

Bartwal said three species of bears: Sloth bear, Asiatic black bear and the Himalayan brown bear, were found in the state and bear attacks increased during the winter when these animals descend to lower areas of the valley, due to heavy snowfall in the higher reaches; this is when these animals target human settlement in search of food. Social activist Shailendar Bisht said continuous monitoring of bear movement was required to avoid such incidents in future.

Family blames SI for 17-yr-old boy’s death
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
In a mysterious death case of 17-year-old Ankit, a complaint has been filed against a serving Sub-Inspector (SI) by the victim’s family claiming that their son was beaten up by the Sub-Inspector and his family for having an affair with the SI’s daughter.

According to the victim’s family, Ankit used to live with them in Adhoiwala; he was in a relationship with the SI’s daughter since the last three years.

A few days back, the girl's family saw her roaming with Ankit in Dehradun after which they took Ankit to Karanpur Chowki where he was allegedly beaten up.

He was later released, after a compromise was reached between the two families and Ankit was then sent to his village in Bijnor by his father. Ankit’s family now claim that he (Ankit) came back to Dehradun after a few days, and the girl’s family got to know of this development. The SI took Ankit to his house where he was once again beaten up and later dropped at his house in the village. Reportedly, Ankit’s condition deteriorated at night after which he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead by the doctors. Now, Ankit’s family claim the SI and his family killed their son.

The Raipur police have registered a complaint against the Sub-Inspector, his wife and other relatives for beating up Ankit that may have led to his death.

Groupism in BJP east Doon unit comes to fore
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
BJP state secretary and in charge of the east Dehradun unit Hemant Dwivedi has cancelled the appointment of Inder Kumar Godvani as general secretary of the east Dehradun unit.

President of the east Dehradun unit Jyoti Sajvan had appointed Godvani as general secretary of the unit. This has brought to the fore factionalism in the state BJP.

In a statement Dwivedi said Sajvan appointed Godvani as general secretary without taking him and other state leaders into confidence.

“The announcement of Godvani’s appointment was made at the personal level without consulting me and other state-level leaders. This is against the principles of the party,” he said.

“I am cancelling Godvani’s appointment as general secretary of the east Dehradun unit made on January 23,” he said.

On the other hand, Sajvan said he had taken Dwivedi into confidence while making the appointment.

A similar controversy had erupted regarding the appointment of the president of the mahila morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party city unit a few months ago.

Kite flying marks Basant festival function
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 27
Students and their parents participated with enthusiasm in a special function on Basant festival organised at Sanskriti School, Ranipur, here on Saturday. Kite flying was the major draw of the event with participants flying kaleidoscopic kites.

The children and their parents observed the yellow colour dress code. The best kite prize went to Kanishka and Saanvi while Kritharth, Sadhiya, Garv Arora and Shivam Bajaj won the best attire prize. Kanishkha, Kritika and Aradhya Garg won the highest altitude flying kite event while Kavya, Arpan, Naman and Sadhiya won the most number of kites cut competition.

School principal Divya Panjwani urged the students to take part in co-curricular activities and asked their parents to motivate them to take part in such events for the overall development of their personality.

Coordinators Dayani, Divya Panjwani, Seema Dhyani and Binendra Sodhi were also present on the occasion.

Protesting shiksha acharyas lathi-charged
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
Protesting members of the Shiksha Acharya and Anudeshak Sangathan were arrested by the police while they were trying to hold a protest march to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna's residence today.

The protesters are demanding that they be recruited against the vacant posts of Shiksha Mitra.

Tension erupted on Subash Road when the protesters tried to cross over the barricades installed by the police. This led to a heated argument between the protesting shiksha acharyas and police personnel. The police had to resort to lathi charge to control the mob.

Later, the police arrested 65 protesters and sent them to Suddhuwala Jail.

Shiksha acharyas have been agitating for the past several months in support of their demand. They said in 2008, the government had closed all EGS and AIE centres due to which shiksha acharyas and part-time teachers in large numbers were left unemployed.

They are now demanding that they be accommodated against the 1,745 vacant positions of shiksha mitra.

Guv inaugurates shakti peetham’s guest house
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi today inaugurated a guest house of Sharda Shakti Peetham on Rajpur road. The guest house has been built under the aegis of Sringeri Sharada Shakti Peetham. The Governor said it was his fortune that he inaugurated the guest house which built due to the inspiration provided by the Jagadguru Shankaracharya.

He said religion and culture were different from each other and if this was understood by people of all religions and communities, the country would become what Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt of--a non-communal and a progressive nation.

“This would create a peaceful atmosphere not just in India but the entire world,” he said.

The Governor Aziz Qureshi spoke about his visit to Indonesia and said it was a country which had 93 per cent Muslims, 5 per cent Hindus and 2 per cent Christians in its population.

Despite this, its rich cultural heritage was based on Hindu traditions and beliefs and each Indonesian was proud of them.

CM lays stone of three foot overbridges
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna laid the foundation stones of three foot overbridges at Tehsil chowk, Darshan Lal chowk and near Gandhi Park here today. Besides this, he also laid the stone of a library building at Gandhi Inter College and streetlights from Dilaram Bazaar to Mussoorie diversion.

He sanctioned Rs 3 crore for development works.

Inaugurating several projects at Gandhi Inter College, Bahuguna announced accreditation for the science and computer lab in the college from the next session. Bahuguna said the quality of education in the state could not be considered satisfactory.

He said it was the duty of teachers to make students competitive. He asked the students to use television and the Internet to enhance their knowledge.

“Success can be achieved only if we decide our goals and work on them with complete dedication,” Bahuguna said.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli, local MLA Rajkumar and other were also present on the occasion.

18 more posts for U’khand Medical varsity
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 27
In a bid to expand the functioning of HNB Uttarakhand Medical University proposed in Dehradun, the Department of Medical Education advertised for 18 more senior level teaching posts.

After the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of the university, decks have now been cleared for filling up of more posts of senior level professors.

The posts include Assistant Professors and Associate Professors.

The department also advertised for around 
10 posts for the upcoming Medical College in Haldwani.

Meanwhile, the 13 finance commission has cleared proposals for the construction of five nursing colleges that would come up in Pithoragarh, Almora, Tehri and Pauri. However, the proposal regarding the construction of nursing college in Chamoli was still being worked out and would be approved in the coming days.

‘Govt committed to increase power output’

Dehradun, January 27
The Uttarakhand government is taking every possible step to increase the power production in the state. Increasing the power production would also stop the migration from the hilly areas. This was stated by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna while inaugurating a substation at Transport Nagar.

''The state was formed with the ideology of becoming a power surplus state but unfortunately we have to purchase power from outside. Several projects have been stalled keeping in mind the eco-fragility of the state. However, every step is being taken to bring a balance between the environment and development,'' he added.

“It is very necessary to develop a positive approach. We would try to restart the stalled power projects after ensuring that these do not spoil the environment,” he added. — TNS