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Students protest over education going commercial
Students stage a demonstration against fleecing by medical colleges in Dehradun on Monday. Tribune photo: Anil P Rawat
At last, portfolios allocated |
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After two long years, Doon’s MRI machine gets operational
Sports body offers aid, soccer league rejects rider
Ex-servicemen rejoice over ‘one rank, one pension’
Vijay Colony taste first victory
Madan Kaushik gets rousing welcome
Govt College introduces PG courses
Tech Varsity Institutes
Mansarovar
Dalai Lama turns 74, Tibetans rejoice
Followers offer prayers on Dalai Lama’s birthday in Haridwar on Monday. A Tribune photograph
Forest Department
Disappointing Budget, says Nishank
NSUI submits memo
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Students protest over education going commercial
Dehradun, July 6
The students gathered near Gandhi Park and then moved towards Clock Tower shouting slogans against the government. “The Uttarakhand government has turned a blind eye to the activities of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT). “High-profile educational institutions like HIHT are fleecing students in the name of providing higher education,” charged Rakesh Negi, coordinator of Aryan Group. He alleged that the HIHT authorities were charging between Rs 35-40 lakh from MBBS aspirants. “The entrance test is being held only in name. Irrespective of their standing in the test, those who can pay can get admission in the college. “The institute has also gone back on its policy of assigning 40 per cent seats to the students of Uttarakhand,” he said. Amit Thapar, member of the group, charged HIHT for evading stamp duty to the tune of Rs 500 crore while setting up a medical college by the name of Swami Ram Vidyapeeth Medical College. He alleged that the authorities had even applied for the status of university from the Centre but they were exposed when they were asked to give a list of the assets of the university.
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At last, portfolios allocated
Dehradun, July 6 In a late night development, Nishank kept 21 portfolios with him, including Home, Personnel, Power, Public Works Department (PWD), Finance, Civil Aviation, Health, Sports, Information and Information Technology. Former Education Minister Madan Kaushik got the best deal - Excise, Sugarcane, Urban Development and Tourism departments. Former Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Co-operatives and Social Welfare Minister Bishan Singh Chufal was given Forest, Environment and Wildlife portfolios, besides Transport and Cooperatives. Matbar Singh Kandari was able to retain Irrigation and Flood Control department and was also given Social Welfare department.Prakash Pant, who was in race for the post of Chief Minister and held the important Department of Tourism, has to now be content with Parliamentary Affairs, Drinking Water, Planning and River Water projects. Trivendra Singh Rawat, a prominent rebel against former Chief Minister Khanduri retained Agriculture and Animal Husbandry department. He has also been given Horticulture, Dairy Development and Fisheries departments. Diwakar Bhatt, the lone minister from Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) in the BJP government will retain the Food and Civil Supplies and Revenue departments. Rajinder Bhandari, an Independent who was earlier Minister of Sports and Youth affairs, has been Panchayati Raj, Alternative Energy, Census and Jail departments. Vijaya Barthwal, who has been inducted as minister of state with Independent charge, would look after Rural Development, Women Empowerment and Child Development portfolios. Govind Singh Bisht, another minister of state with Independent charge would be the new Education Minister. Khajan Das, a minister of state, has been given Disaster Management and Social Welfare while Balwant Singh Bhoriyal, another minister of state, would look after the responsibilities of Health and Information Technology departments.
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After two long years, Doon’s MRI machine gets operational
Dehradun, July 6 The patients with BPL cards will get free treatment while others would have to pay Rs 3,500 per case, charges similar to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). As per the terms of the agreement the company will be able to pocket the revenue earned after the OPD hours, from 2 pm onwards till the next day. However, the company would have to share 34 per cent of the revenue earned which would go in the kitty of the hospital. “The managing committee headed by the CMS, Doon Hospital will look after the functioning of the unit,” said Dr Sudhanshu Bahuguna, additional director DG health and family welfare. The committee would also ensure that the machine is kept up to date by carrying out maintenance under the stipulated time period. For the moment, the machine costing Rs 7 crores is under the warranty period. In addition to the MRI, Microwave Therapy with Traction Machine was also inaugurated at the physiotherapy department of the hospital. The equipment would also be installed at the Rishikesh and Haridwar Government Hospitals. With the machine heating and traction treatment can be given to the patients at the same time. |
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Sports body offers aid, soccer league rejects rider
Dehradun, July 6 But talks between the two bodies has hit a roadblock with the DFA not willing to give membership to all DDSA members. Members of DDSA, which was in existence till 2004, have expressed concern over the dwindling support for
football. — Divendra Bisht DFA secretary Though the members were satisfied with the functioning of the District Football Association (DFA), lack of funds has come as a major hurdle in the DFA’s efforts to promote the game. The DDSA, which came into being in 1937 in Dehradun, has over 500 lifetime members who had been contributing money to organise various sport activities in the city. But in 2004, various federations that had been under the DDSA were detached and turned into individual units. Even in football, a new body with new members came into being. Three years back, members of the DDSA decided to come together for the support of the football. But the talks between the DFA and DDSA members could not materialise. The president of the DDSA was of the opinion that all 500 members be taken as members of present football association. But this was not accepted by the DFA that said only persons concerned with football will be accepted as members and rest won’t be entertained. DFA secretary Divendra Bisht said, “We were ready to get together with the old association members but their demand of taking 500 members of the DDSA as our members cannot be accepted. We only want persons linked to football to join the association.” JM Jindal, former secretary of the DDSA, said “The old association still has huge funds in its accounts that belong to its 500 lifetime members. “This could help the new association get over its fund crunch. For using the fund, all members should be given membership. But our demand seems to be unacceptable to them.” |
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Ex-servicemen rejoice over ‘one rank, one pension’
Dehradun, July 6 Ex-servicemen throughout the country had been demanding “One Rank, One Pension” for the past many years. The earlier National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government also promised the same, but nothing was
done. — Lt Gen. Gambhir Singh
Negi, former Commandant of IMA During the previous tenure of the UPA government, two committees were set up by the Union government to look into the demand. Finally, a provision has been made in the budget for the same. The decision, apart from benefiting a large number of ex-servicemen and their widows, has also be welcomed by the serving personnel hailing from the state. Uttarakhand has as many as 1,15,866 ex-servicemen and 26,060 war widows. The number of serving Defence personnel from the state is nearly one lakh. “It is a historic decision by the Union government and will benefit retired soldiers. “The Congress-led government has taken a major step for the welfare of ex-servicemen,” said Lt Gen. Gambhir Singh Negi, former Commandant of the Indian Military Academy. He has been actively associated with the Congress party after his retirement from Army. Moreover, the decision to provide equal risk allowance to officers and jawans of the paramilitary forces as given in the Army would benefit many youngsters serving in various paramilitary forces such as Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). “We had been struggling for the same for the past 20 years. It was landmark decision to give equal risk allowance to the jawans and officers of paramilitary forces,” said Ganga Singh Rawat, president of the Uttarakhand Purv Sainik and Ardh Sainik Sangathan. |
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Vijay Colony taste first victory
It was a closely contest match between both the two teams. Sunderwala team played aggressively in the initially and dominated the game but they failed to continue the rhythm for a long. Vijay Cantt team came close on score a goal but its forward failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Vijay Cantt played sensibly throughout and kept the ball in its possession. Vijay Cantt succeeded in scoring the goal in the 32nd minute of the first half. It was Tushar for the Vijay Cantt team who took a powerful shot that sailed into the nets of Sunderwala team. At the end of the first half Vijay Cantt team lead by a goal. In the second half Sunderwala team made repeated attempts to find an equalizer but they could not convert their chances into goal. In the 15th minute Tushar struck his second goal of the match to make it 2-0 for Vijay Cantt. Thereafter, Vijay Cantt did not give their opponent any chance to make a come back in the match. In the end it was an easy victory for the team. Meanwhile, in the second match Eleven Star defeated Doon Eagle team 1-0. It was a well-composed Eleven Star team that launched their first attack in the second minute from the right. But its forward line could not jell well in the end to get the desired result. In the 10th minute Doon Eagle missed a golden opportunity when its forward got off-balance before taking a kick at goal. The shot went wide of the left bar. Losing no time Eleven Star team launched a counter attack and struck its first goal in the 12th minute through Daram Singh Negi. Eleven Star’s Negi penetrated Doon Star defence from the right to take a dashing shot at the goal. At the end of the first half, Eleven Star lead 1-0. In the second half Eleven Star team managed to hold on to the lead and won by a solitary goal. |
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Madan Kaushik gets rousing welcome
Haridwar, July 6 Firecrackers were also burst at the Ramleela ground and sweets distributed by party executive members. With BJP suffering a heavy defeat at the national, state and local level in elections, it was after long that the party cadres were seen in a celebratory mood. And with Congress candidate Harish Rawat defeating BJP candidate by a record margin of 1,23,000 votes, the confidence of party workers was at its ebb, which after his reinstatement has been restored. Later, addressing party workers, Kaushik said he would be working wholeheartedly as earlier and the responsibility entrusted to him by the CM was immense. He also thanked people for their support. Meanwhile, some party workers and locals seemed disappointed with Nishank not retaining the Education Department this time. “This will lessen the stature of our legislator and now the trade of transfer of teachers in schools will move on from Model Colony (the place where Madan Kaushik resides),” remarked one of the party workers. |
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Govt College introduces PG courses
Dehradun, July 6 With this, the long pending demand of people of the area to introduce these courses has been fulfilled. As of now, the college management is mulling two options of admissions. In case of more than expected number of applications, a written examination may be conducted. But in normal situation admission will be on merit basis,” said college principal Dr Balwant Singh Negi. There are 10 seats for each course. In the absence of these courses, a large number of students had to go to educational institutions of Srinagar Garhwal, Gopeshwar and Dehradun to study these courses. The students had to spend a lot of money on fees, accommodation and food in these places. Negi added that the new courses would certainly benefit the students who go to other places. At the same time, it would contribute to the overall academic atmosphere and be helpful to the students at undergraduate level. Set up in 1974 with nine students, the college has been imparting education at degree level in Hindi, English, Economics, political science and history courses. In the course of time, new courses were introduced with steady increase in the number of students. At present, there are 2,300 students on its rolls. The introduction of the new PG courses has opened a new chapter in the growth of this institution. |
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Faculty appraisal on cards
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, July 6 Three committees comprising students, parents and social workers are being formed for the purpose. The university management will conduct surprise checks through these committees to keep tab on the level of quality of teachers’ performance. As per the Vice Chancellor Prof DS Chauhan, the idea behind formation of three committees was to ensure objectivity of the reports submitted by them. The development comes at a time when maintaining quality of education in such institutes, most of which are in private hands, has become a challenging task. The mushroom growth of institutes has since witnessed a discernible dip in the teaching standards. There are about 55 professional institutes affiliated to UTU. The university management looks at the formation of these committees as a right step to check the falling standard of professional education. Academically bright students will be a part of the students’ committee. They may complain against teachers who do not teach with proper zeal. The committees will visit institutes for checking and submit reports to the university.
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9 buried bags of pilgrims retrieved
BD Kasniyal
Pitthoragarh, July 6 The bags of some pilgrims of the 10th batch last year were lost during heavy snowfall at Lipulekh Pass while they were crossing over to China. “There were 16 bags that were buried last year under more than 10 feet of snow at the 16,800 ft high Lipulekh Pass from where the Indian pilgrims cross over to China for Kailash Mansarover pilgrimage. Nine of them have been retrieved,” said APS Nimbadiya, Commandant of 7th BN ITBP. The batch of pilgrims were trapped in a heavy snowstorm at Lipulekh Pass from where they were rescued by ITBP personnel last year, but their luggage was buried 7 under snow and could not be dug out even after the yatra season concluded last year. “We have handed over all the bages to Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) officials at Nainital to be given to their respective owners,” said Nimbadiya. He informed that the luggage was dug out from June 21 to 26 when the ITBP advance party was making its way up to Lipulekh from Nabhidhang for patrolling. “The 15-member advance party suddenly found these bags covered by plastic less than four feet of snow,” said Nimbadiya.
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Dalai Lama turns 74, Tibetans rejoice
Haridwar, July 6 A special function was organised at Brahmapuri to mark the celebrations of the Dalai Lama. His Holiness had visited Haridwar this year in April when Swami Ramdev invited him to inaugurate Patanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar. During his visit, the spiritual leader exhorted on religious tolerance and practicing non-violence. Buoyed by his last visit in the city, the function was held on a large scale and Tibetans recalled his preaching and wished for his long life and independence of Tibet. |
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Forest Department
Dehradun, July 6 One of the protestors called Pyare Lal Uniyal has reported uneasiness. Pyare Lal had undertaken fast unto death. Daily wagers of the Uttarakhand Forest Department are seeking permanent appointments in the department. Arjun Singh Rana, general secretary of Uttarakhand Van Shramik Sangh pledged that the daily wagers of the forest department will continue with their fight till the forest authorities provide them permanent employments.
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Disappointing Budget, says Nishank
Dehradun, July 6 Nishank said the budget was directionless with no specific provision to deal with the economic recession facing the country. As a result, the sensex also crashed today, he said. The CM said like the Railway Budget, there was nothing for Uttarakhand in this budget as well. He said the demand for extension of the period for industrial package for Uttarakhand has also been ignored. The state has been demanding extension in the industrial package from 2010 to 2013. Nishank also said the relief given to the common man in income tax was inadequate.
— TNS |
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NSUI submits memo
Dehradun, July 6 In the memorandum, state president of
NSUI, Sangram Singh Pundir has alleged that in June names of only a few candidates were registered, just a day before they were merged with the Power Corporation.
Pundir alleged that the role of District Planning Officer was doubtful; therefore an inquiry should be conducted. |
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Student leaders owing allegiance to DAV College Union (Aryan group) today held demonstrations and blocked traffic at the Clock Tower protesting against the rampant commercialisation of
education.
Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today inaugurated the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine at the Doon Hospital.
For past two years the machine remained locked at the Doon Hospital until the state health department decided to run it on public private mode and signed a memorandum of agreement with and a Delhi-based private company, Mahajan Imaging Pvt, and it’s representative Dr Col HS Bhatia till June 2014.
Haridwar, July 6
Seventy-fourth birthday of the Tibetan spiritual guru Dalai Lama was celebrated with fervour here today.
A sizeable population of the Tibetan community resides in the city and most of them had come here in 1959 when China had invaded Tibet and thousands of Tibetans were made to move out of their country.
Dehradun, July 6