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Water politics: Govt struggles to
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The lingo limbo
Need to reclaim Doon’s soccer glory
Ayush wings stand clipped
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Water politics: Govt struggles to keep afloat
Dehradun, February 23 The coming Lok Sabha elections and politics over the Ganga has retarded the progress made in the hydro power sector in the state by at least six months. The state government has been forced to look for projects on other rivers. Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri today laid the foundation stone of the Vyasi hydro-electric project on the Yamuna in Dehradun district. The Uttarakhand government had hoped that following the report of the high-level expert group (HLEG) set up by the Centre that recommended a mandatory 16 cumecs of water in the Bhagirathi at all time to meet the demand of ther agitating professor would pave the way for construction of Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati hydro-electric projects on the Bhagirathi. However, much to the discomfort of the government, the Union government on February 20 decided to stop work on the Lohari Nagpala project built by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). It was in June 2008 that Prof Agarwala started his indefinite fast at Uttarkashi to demand a complete ban on the hydro-electric project between Gangotri and Uttarkashi to save the Bhagirtahi from decay. By that time the Maneri-Bhali Phase I and II projects on the Bhagirathti had been completed and the National Thermal Power Corporation was building 600 mw Lohari Nagpala project. The state government had also started work on the Pala Maneri project and was in the process of starting work on the Bhairon Ghati project. With pressure from Hindu organisations, particularly the (VHP, mounting the state Bharatiya Janata Party government decided to shelve the Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati project on June 30, 2008. Prof Agarwala suspended his fast with the Centre constituting an experts’ group (HLEG) to give suggestions keeping in mind the religious sanctity of the river. The group reportedly suggested that 16 cumecs of water should flow in the river-bed at all times. The work on the Lohari Nagpala project by the NTPC was not stopped. This gave hope to the state government that the stalled power projects could be re-started. However, Prof Agarwala who had raised doubts about the expert group, resumed his fast in New Delhi on January 13, demanding a ban on the Lohari Nagpala
project. With the Lok Sabha election round the corner, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government decided to suspend the work on the Lohari Nagpala project on February 21 as it did not want to antagonise the right-wing Hindu organisations at such a juncture. But this has come has a major setback to the state government that had planned projects producing more than 10,000 mw of hydro-power on the
Bhagirathi. The state government has decided to take back the Lakhwar Vyasi project from the National Hydro Power Corporation, that had developed a detailed project report of the project, following suspension of work on the two projects on river Bhagirathi. The Vyasi dam is to be built by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL), a state government enterprise, at a cost of Rs 758 crore. The project is expected to produce 438.38 million units of power annually and earn a revenue of Rs 105.29 crore per year. The project is part of the 420 mw Lakhwar-Vyasi project that was awarded to the UJVNL in July last year to make up for the loss of its two key dams - the 480 mw Pala Maneri and 381mw Bhaironghati on the river Bhagirathi. Besides Lakhwar-Vyasi, the other project stalled in Uttarakhand is the 600 mw Kishau on the river Tons in Dehradun. The government is considering resuming work on the
multi-purpose project. It is considering allocating the project to h UJVNL and the Tehri Hydro Power Corporation (THDC)in the joint sector. The government is focused on tapping the small hydro power potential. In a move to attract more locals in power generation, the state government last evening lowered the rate of people’s share to eight per cent of the project cost.
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The lingo limbo
Dehradun, February 23 Lesser-known ‘Rangkas’ and ‘Tolcha’ dialects spoken in Pitthoragarh district of the state have already gone extinct. Several other little-known dialects have been put under the “critically” and “definitely” endangered categories. The Bangani dialect in Uttarakashi district has been put under “critically” endangered category. Dharma (Pitthoragarh), Byansi (Pitthoragarh), Jaad (Uttarakashi) and Jaunsari (Dehradun) find themselves in “definitely” endangered category. But the most startling revelations have come in the form of Garhwali and Kumaoni dialects, which have also been include in “unsafe” category. The number of people speaking Garhwali and Kumaoni dialects has steadily declined over the years. Expert in linguistics Dr Sohba Ram Sharma admits that while Garhwali and Kumaoni dialects were in a state of predicament, with younger generation losing much of interest in them, other lesser-known dialects spoken in Uttarakhand faced greater
challenges. He also attributes this to the lop-sided development taking place in the Garhwal and Kumaon hills. “The development of linguistics has been ignored and progress has been seen in terms of only infrastructure development,” he said. “Hindi as a language is being preferred over hilly dialects and there has been little effort towards their promotion,” Dr Sharma added. According to UNESCO Atlas, the “definitely” endangered category includes those that children no longer learn as mother tongue. The “severely” endangered ones are only spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, but they do not speak it to children or among themselves. As of “critically” endangered, the youngest speakers are grandparents or older generations, and they speak the language only partially and infrequently.
Finally, in case of extinct there are no speakers left.
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Need to reclaim Doon’s soccer glory
Then, Dehradun was a big name in national football and the Gorkha Brigade team was rated among top national football teams and was on equal footing with teams like Mohan Bagan, Mafatlal, Mahindra and Mahindra, East Bengal, Mohammaden Sporting, JCT, BSF and others. In Dehradun, national-level tournaments were organised that saw the participation of many national teams. Railways had also organised an annual football tournament here. After Gorkha Brigade moved out, Dehradun still maintained high standards in football. Doonites saw some exceptional national players like Bhupender Singh Rawat, Dhan Bahadur, Shyam Thapa and Ratan Thapa who were all of national fame and regularly played at the local Pavilion Ground. The famed reverse-kick of Shyam Thapa, which took teams like Mafatlal and others by surprise, is still talked about in the football circuit. Unfortunately, the level of club football declined rapidly in the middle 80s. Veteran footballer Jagmohan Singh Rawat, who was once a member of the famous Gypsy Club in the 80s and is now vice-president of the District Football Association, said, “The Gorkha Brigade had some good teams like 3/9 Gorkha Training Centre and 5/8 Gorkha Regiment that participated and helped maintain the craze of football in the people. “But in the 80s, the Gorkha Brigade shifted to Subhatu in Himachal Pradesh. After their shifting from Dehradun, the city maintained it interest in football for some years, but failed to sustain it for long,” Rawat said. Rawat recalled that during that period, there were many who were selected in the Army solely due to their football skills. Once the Gorkha Brigade shifted, a sense of insecurity descended on the game. “The players started feeling insecure about their future, as football looked no more job-oriented. Another drawback was finance. “The disinterest of the corporate sector and the well-to-do towards football and their increasing liking for cricket is the reason behind the decline.” Rawat said that over the years, the popular football field at Pavilion Ground has gone from bad to worse. There had been no proper upkeep of the ground. The sorry state of affairs was a major impediment in the revival of interest in the game, Rawat said. The neglect has also contributed to the decline of football here. In the 70s, the Gorkha Brigade was among top national football teams and on equal footing with Mohan Bagan, Mafatlal, Mahindra and Mahindra, East Bengal, Mohammaden Sporting, JCT and BSF.
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Ayush wings stand clipped
Dehradun, February 23 As a result, patients in the far flung areas of the state are unable to take the benefits of a unique medical arrangement that was set up to bring in all the Indian practices under one roof. The ayurvedic doctors have not been upgraded at the Doon Hospital and
the “As proposed under Health System Development Project, all the Ayush wings were supposed to have independent wings, with full strength of paramedical staff, but so far the Health Department has not tried to provide basic facilities to our doctors. Because of the shortage of staff, patients are going back without the treatment,” said Dr YS Malik, Patron of Rajkiya Unani Chikitsa
Sewa Sangh. At the District Hospital for Women, the situation is similar as the unit is unable to provide regular services to the patients due the lack of staff and infrastructure. The chief secretary had directed the Health Department to look into the matter but nothing was taken care
of. “The doctors appointed at Ayush wings are on contract and are getting an honorarium of Rs 15,000 or less as compared to the allopathic doctors. We have asked the government to increase it to Rs 20,000 per month,” said Dr Malik. There are 469 ayurvedic and 7 homeopathy centers in the state, under Ayush. A total of 264 officers are deployed with
Ayush.
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Dehradun, February 23