Dehradun, December 18
The health post at Osla (Uttarkashi) is a ramshackle shack, where even the simple procedure of sterilisation cannot be carried out. Moving on into a village in Chakrata (adjoining Dehradun), a woman is in advanced stage of pregnancy. The risk of her losing life for wont of medical care is almost a certainty.

These are stark realties that the rural folk in Uttarakhand face while grappling with illness in the family. They either have to take the patient, traversing several kilometres, to a nearby town or see their loved one die.

Such is the state of health infrastructure in the state, which suffers from paucity of doctors and other medical staff. The doctors are much in demand and could earn the goodwill of people if they stayed put in villages serving the people. But that is not to be. The state of affairs in the state turns from bad to worse as one ascends the hills.

Human resource shortage is so acute in Uttarakhand that several ambitious programmes stand to be derailed for lack of manpower. However, this has not stopped the government from dreaming big and making announcements on utilising the potential of the state as health destination for prospective tourists.

The Uttarakhand government seems to be oblivious of the fact that instead of grandiose schemes its primary task should be providing basic healthcare facilities to the people.

The doctors and medical staff are not keen to serve in the villages and rather be posted in towns for a “bright” future.

Much to the chagrin of the government, the matter of shortage of doctors figured in the ongoing assembly session with members from the Opposition raising questions on the matter. Replying questions, health minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the government had already sent a request to the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission for fresh appointments which would be made shortly.

Health experts say the government needs to work on several fronts at a time. It must look at hard options, besides raising monetary benefits. “The government needs to train future doctors and nurses from districts that are facing problems, making service in villages compulsory for three years and then proceed towards enhancing the skills of the paramedical staff or else the problem would linger on,” said Dr DP Joshi of Doon Hospital.

According to the office of Director General, Health, the state is facing a shortage of 875 doctors, 71 pharmacists and 55 nurses. Their appointments have to be made through the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission for which written tests are held every Tuesday.

“However, once appointed, the new recruits are averse to a posting in the hills, preferring Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar instead, ” said Dr P.L. Joshi, DG, Health.

Against the total demand of 136 medical officers in Uttarkashi, only 69 have been deputed. Further, against the sanctioned strength of 11 Class-I medical officers, only four posts have been filled. So is the case Class II appointments with only four posts filled against a demand for 14.

In Tehri, only 92 posts of medical officers have been filled against the sanctioned strength of 190. Similarly, in Chamoli against the demand for 161, only 81 posts have been filled.

Official data notwithstanding, the government has not even launched a major expansion drive for increasing the number of district hospitals and primary health centres in the state. In several districts, the infrastructure of health centres is abysmally poor and health posts have not been upgraded.

“Nearby Jaunpur has no woman doctor and the issue has been brought to the notice of the health minister time and again, but no action has been taken. In fact, these areas should be declared critical in terms of appointments,” said Rekha, a social worker with the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a Dehradun-based NGO.

That’s not to say that the state government has not taken up projects since the creation of the state. Altogether, 14 trauma centres at Chamoli, Bageshwar, Almora, Kashipur, Roorkee, Tanakpur, Rishikesh, Raniketh, Vikas Nagar, Karanprayag, Lohaghat, Khatima, Chamoli ( main) and Uttarkashi are in the pipline.

Of these, the trauma centre at the Doon Hospital has begun functioning while the building at Base Hospital at Srinagar is ready.

The state is also benefiting from the National Rural Health Mission. The central government is setting up a referral unit in the hills with two community health centres.

The funding of auxiliary nurses is also being looked after through the central programme. “In fact, auxiliary nurses are proving to be the lifeline of medical services. Not long ago after the creation of Uttarakhand, the cadre was declared dead, but now we are setting up training centres at Tehri, Dehradun, and Uttarkashi,” said Dr Anil Sharma, additional director, NRHM.

Amidst all this, the piecemeal approach of the government has few takers. ”We need a commitment from all parties the health is on every government’s agenda, irrespective of their party affiliation. We could have benefited a great deal if the BJP government had gone ahead with the construction of AIIMS, but it was put on the backburner simply because it was a Congress government project,” opined Dr Brijmohan Sharma. an activist. 

Dehradun, December 18
Uttrakhand has one of the largest populations of ex-servicemen in the country. Soldiering has been a tradition in Uttarakhand and the state has contributed generously to the defence forces.

With a large number of ex-servicemen, their problems are also manifold, ranging from delay in getting post- retirement benefits to help in any legal matter.

But the helpline for ex-servicemen has been rendering excellent service to mitigate the sufferings of these ex-servicemen residing in far-off mountainous districts.

Dehradun has established a helpline for ex-servicemen. Established on May, 1992, the helpline acts as a facilitating agency for rural, uneducated ex-servicemen and their dependants. These ex-servicemen from all over the state can get guidance on benefits due to them under various state and central government schemes.

The helpline is called Gaurav Senani Sahayata Kendra. Along with it is also a special cell for widows or daughters of ex-servicemen called Veer Nari Sahayata Kendra. These organisations provide services free of cost. The organisation mainly solves problems related to pension, loss of documents, disbility assistance, medical benefits, pay and allowances.

It provides forms for claims and information regarding different policies for ex-servicemen. Except for legal matters, the helplines guide the ex-soldiers on every matter.

“We get around four calls everyday on various issues,” said Lt Col A.K. Lal (retd), in charge of the helpline in Dehradun. No membership is required for guidance. The complainants are asked to submit documents and a record is maintained of the individual complaint. concerned.

The helpline is located near the station canteen Dehradun. (Helpline no. 0135-2756757)

Dehradun, December 18
Those having plans to celebrate the New Year in the serene environs of Rajaji Park are in for a rude shock this time. Reason: The three key lodgings at the park will no more be available for tourists, as these are located in ranges that have now been demarcated as core zones of the park.

Wildlife in the state continues to attract tourists, particularly from metros, who often come down to the state to celebrate New Year. And protected areas such as Corbett and Rajaji National Park are high on their priority list.

However, closure of Dhaulkhand East, Dhaulkhand West and Kansro Ranges at Rajaji National Park for tourist movement and the subsequent bookings at the rest houses in these ranges with immediate effect has come as setback for these revelers. Generally, these rest houses are packed to capacity during New Year time.

Of late, Park authorities have been under tremendous pressure to safeguard wildlife here, as the place falls among the most vulnerable parks in the country. In order to limit human movement deep inside Rajaji, the authorities have finally decided to make three out of its ten ranges into core zones.

Now, tourists would have limited movement inside these parks as the Wild Life Protection Act restricts any form of human activity inside a core zone.

Director Rajaji Park S.S. Raisaily said their prime mandate was wildlife conservation and increasing revenue collections through tourism was secondary. He, however, said the rest houses in the three ranges that have come under the ambit of core zone are not the sole accommodation available inside the park, as there are rest houses in the other ranges as well.

Raisaily also did not rule out the creation of four tourist zones outside the core zone of the park at Chila and Asha Roree in Ramnagar range, and Motichoor and Ranipur in the Haridwar range. 

Haridwar, December 18
The 53rd all-India English teachers’ conference began at the Gurukul University, here today. Teachers and lecturers from various parts of the country participated in the conference.

Following the success of Indian writers in English, the conference provides an ideal platform to discuss and share their expertise and experience. Majority of the speakers were of the view that with globalisation, English language has assumed greater significance and has become an integral part of global and technical communication.

Professor K. Venkat Reddy from Andhra Pradesh said English writers from India have highlighted common man and his sentiments, which puts them in a special league.

The conference was inaugurated by Swami Vishwesharanad Maharaj, head of Union Public Commission S.K. Das and Chancellor, Prof. Swatantra Kumar.

Prominent among those who addressed the gathering were Dr. Ambuj Sharma, Som Shekri Devi and Prof. Vishnu Dutt Rakesh.

Dehradun, December 18
After a two-day stir, “Vikrams” resumed their operations in Uttarakhand today. The stir ended after an assurance from the assembly Speaker late Wednesday night. He assured that the government would look into their demands.

Uttarakhand State Vikram Tempo Mahasangh’s president Vinay Saraswat said apart from the assurance on part of the speaker, we also thought that a lot of inconvenience was being caused to the pilgrims due to the stir. So, we decided to end the stir.

He also expressed gratitude to the leader of the opposition Harak Singh Rawat for his concern towards the issues of “Vikram” operators.

The mahasangh general secretary Satish Sharma said that the mahasangh would be meeting the speaker again after the conclusion of the session and press for reconsideration of State Transport Authority’s passenger fare decision.

He alleged that “Vikram” operators were already suffering a lot at the hands of police and transport officials and asserted that the new passenger fare has come as another setback for them.Meanwhile, Doonites heaved a sigh of relief with Vikrams back on roads.

India is a secular and multi-cultural nation where people from various castes, religions, language and race live in peaceful co-existence. From Kashmir to Kanya Kumari and Gujarat to Assam, India has a sense of oneness despite vast variation in language, religion, culture and social values. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains constitute a secular and multicultural Indian family.

Britishers in India considered religion the primary marker of difference in Indian society and evolved an elaborate set of policies to give equal respect, opportunity and liberty to the minority communities.

Under Provisions of Article 30 of the Constitution, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Jains are minority communities by religion. Minorities may be defined on religious, racial, gender, ethnic or linguistic basis. Minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control or power over their lives then the members of a dominant or a majority group.

As minorities often find democratic majority rule threatening, an effective mechanism for protecting minority rights is essential to the success of any democratic process.

If we elaborate Section 30 of Constitution, we see that minorities can pursue their own vision of good life within the framework of state laws, equal dignity by giving equal importance, equality, justice and freedom. The Constitution is secular and multicultural in a specific way. Even as it gives equal rights, at the same time it accords recognition and protection to religious, cultural and linguistic minorities.

Equal respect and fairness should be the guiding principles of state policies towards minorities. Religious minorities have enjoyed a reasonable degree of freedom in India and this has been possible on account of consensus regarding the objectives and provisions in the Constitution - right to education in the mother tongue, holidays on minority festivals and quota for representation in elected bodies.

I feel if minorities do not exist it is necessary to invent them as majoritarian nationalism is harmful and multicultural society is the need of the hour to maintain a balance in society as it enhances social tolerance and diversity.

Even, non-democratic governments like Pakistan/UAE should follow such policies though they might be reluctant to grant minorities a place in national identity and promote multi-culturism.

It is an easy formula to solve national problems. Minorities have the same role as that by the Opposition parties in assemblies.

Liberal states have begun to accept the need to grant recognition to minority groups and their cultural values in public sphere. Multi-culturism is now a preferred term to describe the policies of the state in relation to cultural minorities.

The National Commission for Minorities looks after the rights of minorities. It is an effective mechanism for protecting minority rights.The Prime Ministers’s 15-point programme for welfare of minorities has recommended various policies to be launched at the national level- such as enhancing opportunities in education, greater resources for teaching Urdu, modernising madarsa education, scholarship for meritorious students from minority communities, self- employment and wage employment for BPL minorities, upgradation of skills through technical training, prevention of communal incidence, prosecution for communal offences and rehabilitation of victims of communal rights.

The Minorities Rights Commission evaluates the progress of development of minorities, looks into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of minorities and makes periodical reports to the government on any matter pertaining to the minorities.

The National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) was set up in 1994 for economic development activities among minority communities.

The priority sector includes subsidised loans for agriculture, small trading, education, housing, taxi, small-scale industry etc. A commission for minority educational institutes was set up by the Manmohan Singh government in 2006.

As many as 90 minority concentration districts (MCDs) have been identified based on a broad criterion of 20 per cent or more minority population in a district. These districts will be given special attention for the upliftment of minority communities. The Government of India has identified Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar as two such districts in Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand has 15.4 per cent minority community members (12,77,000) according to the 2001 census out of which 10,12,000 are Muslims, 2,52,000 Sikhs, 27,000 Christians, 13,000 Buddhists and 9,000 Jains. Haridwar has 33 per cent, Dehradun 15, Udham Singh Nagar 20 and Nainital 12 per cent of minority populations.

The author is gen secy, Rashtriya Sikh Mahasabha, Dehradun

Dehradun, December 18
In one of its kind initiative, Cherry Fields Kindergarten celebrated Grandparents Day yesterday in its branches at Indra Nagar and Garhi Cantt.

In Indira Nagar, V.K. Thapliyal was adjudged Grandfather King, whereas Shashi Bala Gupta won the title of Grandmother Queen. Similarly, Subhash Chopra and Kishori Thapliyal were declared winners of musical chairs. “Such programmes help students develop a habit of respecting their elders, said Neelu Anand, vice-principal at Indira Nagar observed.

S. Goyal, one of the grandparents said that celebrating grandparents day was certainly a new kind of initiative by a school.

Similarly, in Garh Cantt branch, A.S. Bisht and Durga Devi won the titles of Grandfather King and Grandmother Queen respectively and Col. K.S. Thapa and Devi Gurung were the winners of musical chairs. The celebrations at Race Course continued today.