|
|
|
|
Delay in dam project fuels farmers’ anger
Dept offers hassle-free Kumbh visit
|
|
|
State gets its first full-fledged cancer institute
Stress laid on distance learning
Dolphin (PG) Institute students celebrate annual day function
ABVP to celebrate 60 years of formation
Residents protest incomplete road work
Foresters fail to perform at Bhopal meet
Head Constable Pankaj runs for record-breaking gold
5-wkt victory for Shivalik Cricket Club
Himalayan Cricket Club thump Brave Hearts by eight wickets
Inter-varsity squash championship begins
|
|
Delay in dam project fuels farmers’ anger
Mussoorie, February 22 According to freedom fighter and president of the Lakhwar-Vyasi Dam Prabhavit Kalyan Samiti Milki Ram, a resident of Lakhwar village, the project has been put on the back burner due to cost overrun amounting to several crores and faulty policies of the state government. He said owing to the suspension of the project, the NHPC has sought a claim of Rs 75 crore from the UJVNL for preparing the detailed project report. Milki Ram, shedding light on the course of the project, said the Centre had decided to complete the first stage of the project in 1973-74 under the Fourth Five-Year Plan. On January 20, 1977, the then Prime Minister, late Indira Gandhi, was to lay the foundation stone but she could not reach the site due to a political turmoil in the country. Then Chief Minister of UP ND Tiwari on her behalf completed the task and the Prime Minister’s message was read out on wireless. Following that the environmental NOC was also procured vide letter dated 3/83/78-79. A road at the site was completed in the first stage along with digging of tunnels. The process of acquiring farmers land for dam, construction of sheds and camp office for the companies like JayPee was also completed to certain extent. The UP government spent Rs 180 crore for all these works. The tenders were again invited for the initial work on the project in 1987, but in 1989 the project was stalled due to a paucity of funds and the project was closed completely in 1992. The JayPee company demanded liabilities claim amounting to several crores for an abrupt halt of the project. The project was once again given a go-ahead after the concerted efforts by Tiwari on December 1, 2003, and the construction task was assigned to the NHPC that completed the DPR and sent it to the Central and state governments. According to the Information Bureau report, the Lakhwar-Vyasi project was included with 14 other pending national projects on February 26, 2008. After receiving the status of national project, 90 per cent financial acceptance was also granted but the government could not initiate the project even then. The state government was not interested in signing an implementation agreement with the NHPC therefore it initiated the whole process afresh as it inclined towards granting the work to the UJVNL. The process of assigning the task to the UJVNL was completed in 2008. “The tender process has also not begun after one year of the allotment of the project to the UJVNL. The NHPC and other agencies have also raised several objections making it difficult to seek an NOC, thus leading to the unnecessary delay in the execution of the project,” said Milki Ram. He said poor farmers were suffering amid this confusion, which was a result of infighting between the state and the Centre. Citing the objectives of the project, he said it was initiated to provide a source of income and development of the SC, ST-dominated area on a priority basis, to create additional source of income for the nation, increase the supply of power thus providing a boost to the industrial growth of the country, provide facility for irrigation in 40,000 hectares, generation of 927 mu energy, provide extra water to the states of Delhi and Haryana and to create religious tourism hub near the reservoir. But all these aspirations were being belied due to an absence of will on the part of both the state and the Centre. He also stated that the project if completed would provide additional water to the pre-constructed Dhakrani, Dalipur and Kulhal power houses. Milki Ram has sought an explanation from the govt on the wastage of the public money due to the suspension of the project. Showing documents, he said the project cost in the 1970s was estimated to be around Rs 141 crore only, but due to the faulty policies of the government it had now increased to a whopping Rs 4,000 crore. “Who should be held responsible for this wastage of public money?” asked Milki Ram. He has demanded from the government to begin the work on the project immediately and devise more humane rehabilitation programmes by removing all anomalies through a transparent process. If still the state and the Centre were not capable of completing the project, then the acquired land of farmers should be returned to them. Meanwhile, UJVNL Chairman Yogendar Prasad said the Vyasi-Lakhwar Dam project had been delayed due various reasons but the work would begin soon as the state government was in talks with the NHPC regarding the payment of claims made by it. The delay in the project was not only costing the exchequer but had also left the farmers watch the pot that will not boil in their lifetime.
|
|
Dept offers hassle-free Kumbh visit
Dehradun, February 22 “The auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers often duped visitors and tourists by charging higher rate of fares than the normal. To avoid the problem of commuters at the bus stand, this counter has been prepared,” said one of the volunteers at the information booth. “It is a step taken forward to provide assistance to foreign as well as domestic tourists during the Kumbh mela. We don’t have tie-ups with any hotel, resort or travel agency, but have been appointed to guide the commuters to their destinations in the region at free of cost. Today is the fourth day of the information booth being installed and more than 250 tourists have come to us for the assistance,” he added. The department has tried to present a colourful montage of true India at the mela by revamping roads, ghats, guest houses and conveyance. “It is our first visit to the Kumbh mela, but like any other tourist we were also looking for some help to go to Haridwar. We were quite apprehensive about where to go and how to go as we are from a lower-class family. We feared getting duped by auto-rickshaws. But we are now relaxed, as we have found a reliable source in the form of volunteers of the Tourism Department on the premises of the bus stand. Their service is quite trustworthy and offered free of cost,” said Sanjay Pant from Rudrapur. Setting the assistance booth is another way to advertise the department. The department, which is working extensively on publicity, has ventured into guiding tourists to visit Mussoorie, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Pitthoragarh, Garhwal, Kumaon, Dhanaulti, etc. in a simple way. While talking to nodal officer of the department AK Singh said, “We have already set up many help and reception centres at different junctions of the state to lessen down the inconvenience of the visitors”. He added, “Like our programmes, this helping booth is also serving the same purpose to devotees of the Maha Kumbh and is getting a great response. Certain projects are set up to entail the trade of travel and leisure in the state”.
|
|
State gets its first full-fledged cancer institute
Haldwani, February 22 However, the inaugural function turned out to be a fiasco when Nishank simply went away after cutting the ribbon and attending a puja. He did not come to the podium and the pandal where a large number of people, including the top brass of the medical fraternity, bureaucracy, students and journalists, were waiting for him for well over three hours. His conduct left several people red faced and fuming. Named Swami Ram Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, the facility is expected to go a long way in addressing the needs of cancer patients of the region who were till now forced to go to Bareilley and Delhi for specialised treatment. The foundation stone for the facility had been laid down in April 2006, by the then Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari. The construction of the facility has been done by the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam and the designing aspect by M/S CES, New Delhi. It has been named after the philanthropist Swami Ram. The facility has an equipment block, an OPD block and a 20-bed arrangement with uninterrupted supply of water and power. There are three specialists in the field of oncology who have been appointed to treat the patients. In addition, there is the requisite technical and supporting staff. Latest equipment like Dal Mode High Energy Linear Accelerator, Low Energy Linear Accelerator, CT Simuator, Treatment Planning System and High Dose Rate Remote After Loading Brachy therapy System have been installed at the facility. The permission for functioning of the machines has been obtained from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which is affiliated to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The facility, which is the first of its kind in the entire state, was not able to become fully functional over the past three months because Nishank could not spare time to come and inaugurate it. Set up at a whopping cost of Rs 23 crore at the Sushila Tewari Memorial Forest Hospital Trust, the unit is expected to address the needs of cancer patients. In the days to come there are plans to introduce a high-energy accelerator and other facilities like the bone scanning unit at the centre.
|
|
50 short-listed for interviews
Dehradun, February 22 The event enlightened students about the advantages and prospects of studying in New Zealand. Out of the applicants, at least 50 students having all essential documents were short-listed for the interview session with university representatives from Massey University, Lincoln University and Canterbury University from New Zealand. Besides giving a detailed summary of career in the spheres of arts, science, business, health science and engineering, the representatives even assured students from the safety point of view and of better employment opportunities and long-term permanent residency prospects. The representatives entertained students who by and large attended the fair to get an idea about foreign education and its future prospects. Abhishek Randhar, SIEC Manager, Dehradun chapter, said the idea was to provide aspirants a chance to interact in their hometowns as well as provide a sense of surety. All information from career prospects to clarity regarding visa and accommodation was provided by the delegates.
|
|
Stress laid on distance learning
Dehradun, February 22 Prof AK Dimri, Regional Director, IGNOU, was the chief guest. He emphasised the unique flexibilities offered by the open and distance-learning (ODL) mode where students could study according to their convenience. He said the ODL was the need of the hour since physical infrastructure of schools and colleges were already stretched to the limit. He advocated an enhanced usage of latest technologies like e-learning, mobile learning, teleconferencing, etc. Manoj Kumar Jain, Regional Director, NIOS, Dehradun, laid emphasis on making education more relevant by combining vocational courses with academic courses, which would automatically enable students to become self-employed. He said NIOS offered vocational courses in broad areas such as home science, agriculture, health and paramedical, engineering and technology, computers, etc. He further added there was a need to increase enrolment at all study centres in order to meet the educational targets set by the HRD ministry. He said NIOS would have 100 per cent online admission from the forthcoming session of 2010-11. The admission would be in two blocks, from March 1 to August 31 and then from September 1 to February 28. Those admitted during the 1st block would appear for exams in April next year and those admitted during the 2nd block would appear for exams in October next year. Reacting to the concern voiced by the coordinator about non-receipt of study material on time, Jain said timely supply of study material was essential to the success of the system and any procedural lapses that might have occurred would be taken care of in the future. However, Rev Bro AJ George, Principal of St Joseph’s Academy, shared his experiences as coordinator in Siliguri, West Bengal, and said it was the responsibility of all coordinators to be proactive and guide and counsel students who seek open schooling.
|
|
Dolphin (PG) Institute students celebrate
Dehradun, February 22 The stage was decorated beautifully with colourful lights. A play named “Asha ki Dor”, based on children and widow marriages, was much appreciated. The famous religious presentation, “Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra”, song “Jai Bola Jai Bhagwati Nanda...” was equally enjoyed audience. Punjabi folk dance giddha, Marathi folk dance, Naga dance, Bhutani group dance and solo songs were the other main attractions. Dr Rawat said intellectual competition was essential to maintain high standards in the field of education. Well-maintained infrastructure, highly educated faculty and placement cell were required to run an institution professionally. He emphasised that all should try to make higher education world class and added that where at the world level the gross registration rate of higher education was about 24 per cent, in India it was only 11 per cent, which was a subject of concern. The Dolphin Educational Society gave 50 scholarships of Rs 500 to students. The Principal of the institute, Dr Shailja Pant, presented a detailed annual report. President of the society Ramesh Garg, secretary Vinod Mittal, chairman Arvind Gupta, Vice-Principal of the institute Arun Kumar, Dean (Student Welfare) Vipul Garg, Dr TS Mehra and Dr Aditya Swarup were present with other faculty members, staff, guest and students.
|
|
ABVP to celebrate 60 years of formation
Mussoorie, February 22 The party had always worked to serve the people, especially youth, keeping the social responsibility in front. Pachva Doon convener Ashutosh Kothari, city pramukh Manoj Kumar, city president Subhash Nautiya, Tilok Rana and others were also present.
|
|
Residents protest incomplete road work
Nainital, February 22 The agitators pointed out that although the work on the said road had started more than a year and a half back, the Public Works Department had been unable to complete the task till now. They were pacified only when Public Works Department officials promised that the work would be completed by April this year. The officials said the delay in budgetary allocation was responsible for the job remaining incomplete so far.
|
|
BC Milan win by solitary goal
Dehradun, February 22 It was a close contest between both teams as BC Milan created some sharp moves from the right flanks to penetrate the striking circle of the Little Star team. But the moves did not fetch them any goal. Little Star team players were aggressive too and had pressed hard on BC Milan defence. But to their bad luck the team’s forward line could not deliver. Both the teams were locked at 0-0 at the end of the first half. It was a different story in the second half with BC Milan looking more composed and played in a well coordinated manner, giving Little Star team lesser opportunity to make it to it striking circle. Goal for the team came in the 48th minute of the match through Pawan Negi, who scored the first goal for his side after dodging two players. Meanwhile the second match between Roshani and 2 Garhwal Riffle team had an interesting end. Both the teams failed to score in the allotted time and the result of the match came in the sudden death with Garhwal Rifle team defeating Roshani by 8-7.
|
|
Foresters fail to perform at Bhopal meet
Dehradun, February 22 The recently concluded 18th All-India Forest Sports Meet, 2010, Bhopal, revealed another poor performance by the UttarakhandForesters. The Uttarakhand Forest Department stood at a distant 14th position in overall medal tally and could just manage 14 medals that included just two gold. Chhattisgarh, which came up at the same when Uttarakhand was carved out, dominated the proceedings with as many as 67 medals in its kitty that included staggering 33 gold. Madhya Pradesh too bagged 61 medals standing second in the tally followed by Kerala with 52 medals that got this southern state the third position. Uttar Pradesh with little of forest infrastructure managed 33 medals. Uttarakhand Forest team’s performance dipped further in the Bhopal Games. It was at the 11th position in last Forestry Sports Meet that took place in Punjab and had then bagged three gold. Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests had then announced cash awards to the tune of Rs 5,000, Rs 4,000 and Rs 3,000 for gold, silver and bronze, respectively. But this incentive came as little solace. Sports are certainly not high in preference for the forest authorities of Uttarakhand, where the state’s hilly topography calls for the best level of fitness among foresters. Lack of infrastructure and other facilities act as big discouragement for the foresters engaged in sports. The department had recently announced providing 4 per cent reservation to the sportsmen in the recently conducted recruitment of forest guards, but its implementation seems very distant on ground. With the state all set to host the next All-India Forestry Sports Meet, sportspersons from the Uttarakhand Forest Department will be under tremendous pressure to perform this time. It is for the first time that the state has been awarded this prestigious 19th Forestry Sports Meet. Other smaller Dehradun-based central forestry-linked institutions registered their presence convincingly in the Bhopal meet. The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education succeeded in bagging nine medals, which included two gold, three silvers and four bronze. Other Dehradun-based institutions like the Directorate of Forestry Education, Indira Gandhi National Forestry Academy, Forest Survey of India and Wildlife Institute of India clinched nine, four, two, two and one medal, respectively.
|
|
Head Constable Pankaj runs for record-breaking gold
Haridwar, February 22 Pankaj Dimri won a gold at the ongoing All-India Police Athletic Championship being held at Kerala. Pankaj won the coveted gold in 800m, winning the race in a record time of just 1 minute 49 seconds, establishing a new meet record. With this record time, Pankaj elapsed the 8-year-old record of the championship, which was set in 2002 by Punjab police personnel Nishan Singh. A wave of happiness prevailed in the Police Department since the news of Pankaj creating a record at the meet came in. Another medal was added to the tally by Neeraj Sharma in the 20 km steeple chase in the same championship. State Director-General of Police Subash Joshi has lauded the achievement of both athletes and said they had set an example for other personnel to follow suit and make state police proud in various other fields apart from the regular duty job. The DGP has also announced a cash award of Rs 20,000 for Pankaj as an appreciation of his record-breaking achievement. IG, Garhwal, MA Ganapathy, DIG, Kumbh Mela, Alok Sharma, along with other higher-ranked police officials, have expressed their happiness and congratulations to the two athletes. Pankaj Dimri is a Head Constable and a leading athlete not only in the state, but also among the national police athletes. He is a proud winner of dozens of district, state and national-level medals. Earlier too, Pankaj had won silver medal in the Youth Commonwealth Games held in Pune, Maharashtra, and later a gold medal in the national meet held in Mysore, Karnataka. In the Grand Prix Meet, Pankaj had also shown his prowess by clinching gold in Jamshedpur, Bihar, and silver in Kerala. He has also represented the Indian national team in the Asian Athletics Championship held in China. Neeraj too has performed spectacularly in various other state and national sporting events.
|
|
5-wkt victory for Shivalik Cricket Club
Dehradun, February 22 Openers gave a fine start to with Abhay scoring 49 runs off 21 balls, hammering bowlers all over the ground. Another opener Kapil came up with 20 runs off 17 balls. Bharat made 15 runs and Himanshu came up with 12 runs off 9 balls. For the Doon Tiger team Vivek was the lead wicket taker with three wickets, whereas Sudhir claimed two wickets. In reply, Shivalik Cricket Academy batsman performed well under pressure. Opener Siddhart and Tajender gave a firm start to the team. Siddhart made 22 runs off 19 balls, whereas Tajender made 43 runs off 38 balls. Naresh scored 27 runs off 23 balls. Middle order batsman Ajay chipped in with a handy 24 runs off 14 balls helping his team reach the target with five wickets in hand. For Doon Tiger team Rajeev and Abhay took two wickets each. UIT reigister victory
UIT team registered a 63-run victory over S Bhagwan Singh (PG) College at the Uttarakhand Technical University here today. Batting first, the UIT scored 138 runs in 31 overs. Opener Pavan scored 20 runs and Kuldeep made 14 runs. First down batsman Roshan came up with 20 runs. Mahinder scored 29 runs. Ritush made 20 runs. For S Bhagwan Singh team, Tapesh took three wickets, whereas Shikhir and Vishal took two wickets. Bhagwan Singh College was all out for 75 runs. Parvesh was the highest scorer with 16 runs. For UIT team Rakesh and Ritush took three wickets. Meanwhile in the second match, Graphic Era University defeated MRPS team by 8 wickets. Batting first MRPS team who could only score 45 runs in 16.5 overs. For Graphic Era team Sumit took five wickets and Gurmeet took two wickets. Chasing the victory target, Graphic Era team reached the target with eight wickets in hand. For MRPS team, Sandeep Singh and Sandeep Negi took one wickets.
|
|
Himalayan Cricket Club thump Brave Hearts
Dehradun, February 22 It was a poor batting display by Brave Heart batsmen and the team was all out on 90 runs. Both openers returned to pavilion when the team score was 20 runs only. Event the first down batsman Tushar failed completely to score. After the top order collapse none other batsman showed any resistance. Tailender Gurmeet was the highest scorer for the team with 17 runs. For Himalayan Cricket team, Prakash took four wickets whereas Ashish and Pawan took one wicket each. Chasing the victory target of 91 runs, opener paved the way for team victory scoring runs at will. S Shikhar made 62 runs off 25 balls, whereas Sandeep made 52 runs off 25 balls. For Brave Heart team Sameer took one wicket.
|
|
Inter-varsity squash championship begins
Haridwar, February 22 In the first and the only team match of the inaugural day of championship between Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Devi Ahilya University, Indore, Panjab registered win. In the individual category, Jodhpur University’ Prateek Baweja clinched the match by winning in straight sets 11-2,11-2 against Bharat Oula of Rajasthan University. In the second match of the day, Pradep Ashw of LNIP Gwalior University was beaten by Dheerav of Pune University 11-9,11-3. Till date the teams that have reached are Mumbai University, Rajasthan, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Indore, Punjab, Anna Malai-Chennai, Panjab Patiala, MDU, Rohtak, Pune University, Gwalior while till late evening other university teams were arriving at the venue. The chief guest Alok Sharma stressed on the need healthy lifestyle. DIG said sports is one thing in student’s life, which doesn’t come twice in life and the sporting-fitness culture inculcated during this phase shapes the lifestyle for future. Informing about Gurukul Kangri University’s emphasis on sports its Vice-Chancellor Prof Swatantra Kumar opined that in sports defeat was quite important as while one got elated at victory defeat shattered oneself. “It’s that person who digests and improves after losing, succeeds in life,” said Kumar. Present at the occasion were Uttarakhand Squash Board Vice-Chairman Sanjay Verma, Chancellor Ved Prakash Shastri, Mahavir Aggarwal, VK Chopra, RKS Dagar, Alok Pandey, Manu Dev Bandhu, Rajendra Aggarwal and Pradeep Joshi among others.
|
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Dehradun, February 22
Haridwar, February 22
