Chief Minister announces new health scheme
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has announced that swarbhom swasthaya yojna, a health scheme, will be implemented in the state on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. He said that Congress-led state government was committed to carrying development works in higher areas of the state.

While addressing a gathering in a function held to mark the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister of India Rajeev Gandhi, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said that Rajiv Gandhi played a pivotal role for the development of the state. He said that Gandhi announced 50 per cent reservation in panchayat elections, and gave voting rights to the youth at the age of 18 years.

“Rajiv Gandhi took various steps to strengthen Panchayati Raj system in the state,” Rawat said, adding that a special scheme was sanctioned by him for carrying a cleanliness drive in the river Ganga.

He said that Gandhi took various decisions for the uplift of weaker sections of society. According to him, India registered its presence in space and information technology due to pivotal decisions taken by Rajiv Gandhi during his tenure as prime minister of India.

Chief Minister Rawat said that Congress-led state government is committed to provide rations at subsidised rates and better medical and health facilities to residents of the state. He said that the state government will complete all formalities to provide cheap rations at subsidised rates to beneficiaries under Food Security Act.

Chief Minister Rawat said that a couple of plans were in the pipeline for improving medical and health facilities to especially those villagers who are living in higher areas of the state.

Rawat said that the state government has decided to give pension benefits to farmers of the state. He said that different government departments’ officials are working round the clock for improving basic infrastructure in the mountainous areas of the state.

Rawat said that the state government would ensure distribution of old-age, handicapped, and widow pensions to beneficiaries. He said that giving strict instructions to officials was a regular feature to ensure timely completion of development works in the state.

Rawat said that special focus had been laid down by the state government to reconstruct damaged infrastructure in the disaster-hit areas of the state.

Earlier, Rawat paid floral tributes to Rajiv Gandhi. He also urged the gathering to follow his example.

Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyaya, MLA, Raipur, Umesh Sharma, Jyot Singh Bisht, Dheerandra Pratap, Rajeev Jain and Beena Verma were present.

Work on foot overbridge at Tehsil Chowk stalled
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Call it the clash of egos at the cost of public interest or lack of development hindsight, the construction of the foot overbridge at the busy Tehsil chowk has stalled owing to differences between the Dehradun Municipal Corporation and Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA).

While the MDDA, entrusted with task of constructing the overbridge on the BOT basis, started the work at the disputed spot, it was soon stalled as Mayor Vinod Chamoli refused to sanction it citing financial constraints.

MDDA secretary Banshidhar Tiwari said to prevent accidents, a proposal was put up by the state government to build seven foot overbridges in various parts of the city. “Tehsil chowk was shortlisted in the first attempt while the remaining six places were yet to be finalised. Under the terms of the project, while the DMC had to provide space, the MDDA would be carrying out the construction work and then give it to the DMC for maintenance,” he said.

The sides of the overbridge were to be covered with hoarding carrying advertisements. The revenue being earned from the advertisements would go to the DMC,” he added.

Sources said while Mukhya Nagar Adhikari cleared the project file, it was Chamoli, who refused to oblige.

Speaking to The Tribune, an irate Chamoli said he disapproved the project as the earnings from the advertisement revenue was very less. “The MDDA shortlisted the advertisers and finalised the rates without consulting with the DMC. In the past too, the MDDA has, several times, taken decisions on behalf of the DMC, as if we don’t exist. The state government and its departments should understand that the MC is an independent body and would not function at the whims and fancies of some government official,” he added.

“I know the construction of the footbridge will bring relief for pedestrians, especially in view of heavy traffic in the city. However, we can’t let someone else to take decisions for us. Until the rates are revised as per our demand, I will not approve its construction,” said Chamoli.

Mammography machine lying defunct at Doon Hospital
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Female patients at Doon Hospital are deprived of mammography facility for the past two years.

The mammography machine, which plays an important role in detecting breast cancer, is lying defunct at the hospital.

“The camera in the machine is dysfunctional and in the same state for the past two years,” said a senior doctor.

Due to lack of awareness, most breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage. According to international standards, a woman has to get the test done every two years after she reaches 40, and every year after she is 50.

“After the machine was installed, there was a steady visit by patients, keen to get the mammography done, but once it developed a malfunction, patients stopped coming,” said a technician.

The rates of mammography are quite reasonable at the government hospital, which in turn invited a steady stream of patients.

Moreover, there is no timeline set for making the machine available by the Health Department, even though a senior health official at the hospital said the department had apprised the directorate of the problem.

Sources claim the directorate had been slow in responding to the immediate needs of the hospitals and precious time is lost in moving the files.

Policemen felicitated
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Members of the Haridwar police and Special Operation Group (SOG) who cracked the Roorkee prison gangwar case and arrested the culprits in record time were felicitated at the police headquarters in presence of Director General of Police (DGP) BS Sidhu and other senior police officers here today.

The DGP gave cash award of Rs 20,000 to the police team members and appreciated the speedy investigation in the case. MLA Khanpur, Kunwar Pranav ‘Champion’, was also present on the occasion. He gave a cheque of Rs 11,111 to the team members for cracking the case.

In absence of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haridwar who was reportedly engaged in a recruitment drive in Haridwar, Inspector Javdev Arya, Sub-inspector Mohammad Yasin, Sub-inspector Narendra Bist, Sub-inspector Naresh Chauhan and constable Shashikant were present at the police headquarters to receive the awards. On August 5, three persons were killed in a shootout outside Roorkee prison. The incident occurred in the evening when history-sheeter Chinu Pundit was coming out of prison after serving a jail term. As soon as Chinu came out of the main gate, four unidentified persons who were waiting near the gate fired on Pundit.Three persons, including brother of Chinu Pundit, died on the spot, while seven were injured in the shootout.

It was believed that Sunil Rathi gang tried to kill Chinu Pundit, as both had been at loggerheads over the past few years.

The Haridwar SSP formed a joint team of police and SOG under the leadership of SP rural. The team arrested five accused, namely Amit, Sunil Tomar, Mahkar, Sunil Rana and Neetu Tyagi. It recovered the weapons allegedly used in the shootout.

DIG reviews relief work in Yamkeshwar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Garhwal Range, Amit Sinha, reviewed the ongoing relief and rescue operations in the disaster-hit areas of Yamkeshwar tehsil in Tehri district here yesterday.

He has been camping at Yamkeshwar and spearheading relief operations in the tehsil, which was hit by disaster and triggered by a cloudburst last week.

He reviewed the ongoing work of transporting essential food items to far-flung villages located beyond Mohan Chatti road which have been cut from the district headquarters.

The DIG said the police were trying to coordinate with the Public Works Department (PWD) to restore connectivity in villages so that there was no shortage of essential items. He said food items were supplied using a helicopter in villages.

On the other hand, the police team recovered the body of Vinod (25) from Kureda village where three persons of a family were killed after their house was buried in mud. The bodies of other two persons were recovered a few days back.

Notably, a number of villages in Yamkeshwar tehsil got disconnected after the cloudburst. Since then, relief and rescue operations have been going on to provide relief to the affected persons.

The DIG visited the Kathbangla area where seven persons were killed on August 14 morning after their houses were buried in a landslide triggered by heavy rains.

The DIG met with the affected families and listened to their problems. He directed the officials concerned to hold a survey of the whole area so that steps could be taken to save the local population from the nature’s fury in the future.

Sinha also directed officials from Rajpur police station to remain alert during heavy rains and identify spots vulnerable to landslides in the entire area.

Seven persons, including four women, were killed in Dehradun when their houses were buried in mud and rocks brought down by a landslide triggered by incessant downpour in the wee hours of August 14. Seven bodies were recovered from the debris.

Scaling Everest was a dream to cherish, twins tell Sachin
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Twin sisters Tashi and Nungshi, who climbed six highest peaks of the world, met cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar at his residence and discussed their achievements at length.

In a press note released here, the sisters said: “We felt so proud that an Indian had raised the bar for cricketers around the globe. Though we never played cricket ourselves, in all our pursuits we had a kind of ‘beacon of perfection’ in Sachin.”

“Like him, we wanted to do something real big for our country, especially for our women. When we discovered our passion for mountaineering, we looked at nothing but the highest peak, Everest,’’ said Nungshi.

On a mission to conquer the seven highest peaks of the seven continents across the globe, for the cause of the Indian girl child, Tashi said: “Climbing Everest was a personal dream for pure passion to stand on top of the world, but the mission was born out of our desire to use our passion for social good. No twins in the world have accomplished the task.Only about 300 people have so far managed to scale the famed seven summits. It is an incredible journey of persistence, fortitude and ‘never-give-in’ approach which saw us successfully climb the highest peaks.’’ The twins are now eyeing Mt Vinson in Antarctica, a feat, if accomplished, would lead to a historic milestone achieved by any Indian woman so far.

“During the interaction, Tendulkar inquired at length about the our exploits and appreciated our courage and unique contribution to national prestige worldwide. He assured us of all possible support in realisation of their dreams,” she added.

Students showcase Indian culture through dance performances
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
As many as 19 schools participated in the CBSE Sahodaya Inter-School Dance fiesta organised at Scholars Home School here today.

Students from various schools depicted diverse Indian culture through majestic dance performances, including folk and contemporary dance styles. Tales from Indian mythology were presented through dance acts on the occasion.

Students from Universal Academy, Scholars Home, DSB International, The Indian Academy, The Asian School, Lucent International, Army Public School, Horizon School, Olympus High School, DAV Public School, Jaswant Modern School and other schools displayed exquisite Indian Folk and contemporary dance performances.

Earlier, Scholars Home Principal Chhaya Khanna inaugurated the event by lighting the lamp.

BJP councillors protest pending road projects
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
A delegation of the BJP councillors staged a protest demonstration outside the PWD office against the non-completion of the pending road construction works.

The delegation, led by Kargi councillor Amita Singh, submitted a memorandum to the executive engineer and demanded the immediate completion of the roads in Ekta Enclave, Shivalik Enclave, Chandra Vihar, Badrinath Vihar, Pathri Bagh and Devrishi Colony.

Bank employees stage protest
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
The agitated bank employees staged a protest today in support of their pending demands. They threatened to intensify their agitation if the department did not take effective steps to address their grievances.

The agitated employees under the banner of the All-India Bank Employees Union protested here today.

The agitators expressed concern that the Union Government should not implement PJ Nayak committee recommendations in the banking sector.

The agitators lamented that higher officials were forcing bank managers and staff to sell products, including insurance instead of doing banking.

The agitators threatened to start intense agitation if the state government did not take effective steps to redress their grievances.

Jagmohan, VK Joshi, Anil Jain, Sant Ram, Sohan Singh, Murari Lal Nautiyal, TC Pathak, LM Bhatt and CK Joshi were present.

Residents protest against lack of civic amenities
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Irked over lackadaisical attitude of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, residents led by state Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana gheraoed the office of Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harak Singh Rawat.

Residents from Kaulagarh, Govindgarh and Gandhigram said the DMC had turned a blind eye towards their problems.

Terming the present board as incompetent, Dhasmana said they were concerned about the problems being faced by the general public. He said there was no provision to drain water from water-logged streets of Kaulagarh and Ambedkar Nagar.

Following heavy rains, roads got waterlogged and water entered households and shops located in the vicinity. Even commuters were forced to wade through knee deep water on roads,” he added.

“Besides waterlogging, there are potholes as deep as two-three feet that have become a deadly spot for commuters. Even the slum localities near Rispana and Bindaal have not been moved by the DMC posing a threat to their lives,” he said.

Ensuring an immediate action, the MNA said he would send a team of officials to the affected areas and work towards resolving the crises. The protesters threatened to launch a massive agitation in case the problem was not resolved within a week.

Electro-homoeopathy docs’ association protest
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Members of the Electro-Homoeopathy Doctors Association staged a protest at the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) office here yesterday.

They protested against the surprise raids conducted by the state Medical, Health, and Family Welfare Department officials.

They alleged that the officials were mentally harassing the medical practitioners.

Addressing agitators at the CMO office, KPS Chauhan, state president of the Electro-Homoeopathy Doctors Association said allopathic doctors were harassing the electro-homoeopathy medical practitioners by conducting raids at their clinics.

The CMO said allopathic doctors of state Medical Department were continuously conducting raids at the clinics of the electro-homoeopathy medical practitioners, despite the fact that the association members were not covered under the state medical council.

Speaking on the occasion, former chairman of the state Women Commission said the state government should take steps to address grievances of medical practitioners.

Poet Chander Kunwar Barathwal remembered
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
A remembrance ceremony was held to pay tributes to renowned poet Chander Kunwar Barathwal to mark his 95th birth anniversary in a function held here today. The function was organised by Chander Kunwar Barathwal Research Institute.

The gathering termed Barathwal as a renowned poet who wrote dozens of poems on various issues.

Veenapani Joshi, Chanderlekha Tripathi, Manmohan Singh Rawat, Jagdish Kukreti, Samar Bhandari and others were present.

Kumaon commissioner proposes air services from Pantnagar
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Aiming to start air services from Pantnagar, Kumaon Divisional Commissioner AS Nayal said the move would give a thrust to tourism in the state, besides helping the small-scale industrialists.

He was addressing a delegation of officials. “Being present in SIDCUL area, industrialists would benefit largely from the move. State government is in talks for establishment of an airport at Pantnagar that would be equipped with state-of-the-art amenities and equipment. DM Pankaj Kumar Pandey said instructions had been given to officials posted for construction of boundary wall at the proposed site.

The officials from the Airport Authority of India said that plans were under way for the expansion of the proposed runway from the existing 4500 feet to 7000 feet and from 30 metres to 45 metres.

Bhatt seeks adequate relief for rain-hit families
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
The Congress government has failed in responding to the damage caused to human life and property due to heavy rains that lashed Yamkeshwar in Pauri on August 14 and 15. This was stated by Leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhatt here today.

After visiting the affected areas, Ajay Bhatt lashed out at the state government for its failure to learn a lesson from the last year’s mid-June tragedy. “The destruction in areas affected by the recent heavy rains may not be of the scale of the Kedarnath deluge but even then the government has been slow to respond. Even after passing six days the administration has failed to restore the roads, water and electricity connectivity. They have also failed to provide tents to people living in upper reaches,” Bhatt told the mediapersons.

He said the government had failed to provide adequate ration and tents to the affected people of Yamkeshwar. “We demand that the government give adequate compensation to the affected people who are facing acute hardships,” he said. “It has come to light that the government has offered a relief of Rs 1 lakh whose houses have been completely damaged, semi damaged Rs 50,000 and to partially damaged Rs 10,000, which is inadequate,” he said. Bhatt said Beragar village had been completely destroyed forcing people to live in camps at Rishikesh. Bhatt and his team has assessed the number of houses damaged in Yamkeshwar to be around 126 and damaged rural roads around 210.

Now, course on Kumaoni dialect
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 20
A course on Kumaoni dialect will be taught on the Almora campus of Kumaon University at graduate level from the next academic year as the UGC has approved the course. Kumaon University Vice Chancellor HS Dhami stated this in Nainital today.

Dhami, who was addressing university administrators at the varsity’s annual meet, said the curriculum of Kumaoni dialect courses has been prepared by Prof Sher Singh Bisht of Almora campus. “The curriculum has been approved by the university academic council and will be taught from the next session,” he said.

Dhami said after successful implementation of the semester system at the PG level, the university is now mulling over its implementation at the graduate level. “To ensure 180 days’ academic period in all colleges of the university, we have cut down on some leaves which were prevalent till the last academic year,” he added.

Dooley House lifts trophy in debate event

Dehradun, August 20
Dooley House won the overall trophy in the Brother ET Dunne Memorial Inter-House Debate Competition organised by St Joseph Academy (SJA) here today.

The chief guest was Rev Brother Benedict, Superior of the Patrician Congregation. The programme began with debate on “World would be a better place if women were to rule”. Dooley House bagged the first position while Kanishk Kakar was adjudged best speaker. The best rebuttal award was won by Ritika Gusain.

All four houses showed fluency during the Hindi debate on the topic “Paschatya Deshon Ka Anukaran, Vikas ke liye Avashyak hai”. Bergin House was adjudged best team and Pramanshu Yadav won the best speaker award while Akash Gupta was adjudged best rebuttal. — TNS

2 mobile phone thieves held
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
The Rajpur police arrested two mobile phone thieves from Inder Baba Road during a checking here yesterday. The police recovered a mobile phone from their possession that they had stolen from Kandoli.

Sub-inspector Mahendra Singh Chauhan said, “We intensified checking on Rajpur Road after getting information that two motorcycle borne thieves looted Virendra Singh Rawat at Kandoli and decamped with his expensive mobile phone.”

sports
DAV Public School beat Aryan School 39-19 in basketball
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
In the boys’ section match, DAV Public School defeated The Aryan School 39-19 in the ongoing Youth (Under-16) Basketball Championship at The Aryan School here today with Himanshu of DAV scoring maximum 12 points. In another match, The Doon School defeated Woodstock School 34-27 in which Shaurya remained the highest scorer with 11 individual points.

The Asian School also won its match against St. Mary’s School in the boys’ category section with the scoreline of 31-14 in its favour. Jaskaran scored maximum 9 points for The Asian School.

On the other hand, in the girls’ category matches, The Aryan School defeated Shigally Hill International Academy 22-9 with Channi scoring the highest 7 points for the winning team in the match. Jaswant Modern School registered a 35-3 victory over Eclole Globale International Girls’ School with Banita scoring highest 13 points for Jaswant Modern. In another match in the girls’ section, Doon International School defeated Unison World School 18-9 points with Kunga scoring maximum 12 points in the match.

3-0 win for Unison World in football
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
Matches in girls and boys senior categories were played in the ongoing girls and boys inter-school football tournament at Gorkha Military College here today.

In the girls senior category, Unison World School defeated Doon International School 3-0 with Tejaswi scoring the first goal in the 13th minute for Unison. Later, Anju and Disha scored one goal each in the 18th and 38th minutes of the match.

The second match in the boys senior category. Doon Valley Public School trounced Cambrian Hall School 1-0, with Kishor scoring the winning goal in the 39th minute of the match.

Indian Public School, Asian School win matches

The Asian School defeated Selaqui International School 4-0 in the first quarterfinal match played in the ongoing 1st Selaqui Invitational All India Boys Inter-School Football Tournament at the school football ground here on Wednesday.

Wankit scored three goals in the 14th, 15th and 25th minute of the match while Vikul scored one goal in the 16th minute of the match. In the second match, Maa Aanandmayee defeated Wynberg Allen School 1-0 with Rahul scoring the winning goal in the 42nd minute.

Indian Public School defeated Doon Presidency 3-0. While Neelesh scored the first goal in the 18th minute, Satyarth and Rohit scored one goal each in the 32nd and 53rd minute. In the last match of the day, The Doon School defeated Delhi Public School 2-0.