Nainital, May 3
The Sushila Tewari Forest Hospital Trust at Haldwani has become a full-ledged institution of the state government. The state government has formally taken over the hospital from May 1. However, the complete process of transfer will take several more months.

According to official sources, officials of the Forest Department functioning as the secretary and deputy secretary will no longer have anything to do with the institution. It was in the first week of this month that the government while acting on its promise made long ago disbanded the Uttarakhand Forest Hospital Trust and announced that it would be taking over the hospital from May 1. Sources said a nodal officer would be appointed by the government to take care of the setup. Interestingly, till the filing of this report, the officials at the hospital were still awaiting a formal government order for the changeover.

Official sources say May 1 is just a formal date for setting the process of government takeover in motion. It will take several months for the assets of the institution to be handed over to the government. Secondly, the process of pay fixation of the employees will also take almost a year. There was an inordinate delay in the pace of takeover following the departure of Principal Secretary (Health) Keshav Desiraju to the Centre and the appointment of his successor S Raju, who was till now working as the Commissioner for Kumaon. In fact, Raju was relieved of his charge only on Friday and it is obvious that he will require time to set things in proper motion regarding the takeover. The institution will now be known as the Sushila Tewari Hospital.

The biggest beneficiaries of the decision on the takeover would be the employees. It is learnt that about 280 permanent employees are now set to get the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

In addition to them even the contractual employees would now get payments based on the said recommendations.

It is being expected that the patients coming to the Hospital for treatment would also benefit from the decision as they would now be able to get free medicines on the lines of the facilities being provided at other government hospitals.

The sources said the students studying in the Sushila Tewari Forest Hospital Trust Medical College would also become major beneficiaries as they would now be paying the fees equal to the sum being taken from the students of the recently established Medical College in Srinagar, which is the lowest in the country. These students would now be paying a sum of Rs 15,000 per annum.

There was a line of thought in the government that since the money meant for running the hospital and the medical college was being provided by the government, yet it did not have a direct control over its functioning.

There is also a thought that the best option would have been to make it an autonomous institution like the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

It is being hoped that the things would turn out to be better in the days to come and the institutions would not meet the fate of several medical colleges and hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, feel certain officials.

Haridwar, May 3
Once again, factionalism in the ruling BJP Municipal Committee came to the fore when a section of party councillors came out in the open against Chairman Kamal Johra and even misbehaved with him late on Saturday. The police had to be called to control the situation and the Chairman was escorted till home.

The MC meeting ended in a ruckus as BJP councillors took away documents from the Chairman’s hands and broke water glasses in a heated exchange of words.

Now, such is the state of the ruling municipal committee that the municipal chairman fears more from its party councillors than the opposition ward members. This time party ward members targeted Kamal Johra on the issue of allowing Satya Narayan Sharma as representative of the Haridwar parliamentarian during the meeting. Though opposition members counter this saying that the chaos was a result of BJP councillors getting baffled as important subcommittees have gone in favour of opposition and due to internal factionalism there was a chaos among the 
ruling members.

Meanwhile, BJP councillors allege that there is no provision as such for allowing representative of the parliamentarian during the board meeting. They also complain that the Chairman was seen favouring Congress councillors. BJP councillor Subash Joshi says the Chairman has been favouring opposition out of way and the time has come to complain to the state leadership about his behaviour.

While Johra claims that he had done nothing wrong in allowing parliamentarian representative to take part in the meeting saying that there is provision in municipal rules and he did it as per the rules. Johra claims a section of his party councillors are trying to target him whereas BJP has won many important sub-committees’ elections.

The Congress too has condemned the behaviour and ruckus in the municipality by BJP members. Leader of Opposition in the Palika Sanjay Sharma remarked that BJP councillors had put democracy in shame by their behaviour. “We won elections in a free and fair manner but BJP councillors are claiming we had a secret pact with the Chairman which is too unreal to be true,” said Sharma.

A statement released to the Press by the BJP councillors stated that Johra had been unduly favouring opposition parties, specially the Congress, and when they asked the election procedure of the committees Johra misbehaved with them. The signatory councillors include Subash Chand, Malti Devi, Sapna Sharma, Jitendra Chauhan, Sushil Chauhan, Surendra Chauhan, Anil Arora, Anil Mishra, Gangadhar Pandey, Mehar Chand, Kishore Arora, Nisha Devi, Rameshwar Badaudiya, Devendra Manwal and Hema Mishra.

Dehradun , May 3
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today flew to Sidri village in Uttarkashi distict to meet the victims of the devastating fire that burnt 25 houses in the village on Saturday night. Two persons were killed and five others were injured in the inferno that engulfed the entire village. The state government had given an ex-gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the fire incident.

Chief Minister Nishank went to the spot and assessed the damage by the devastating fire. He assured the victims of the full support of the state government in helping them make their hearths and homes again. He asked district administration officials to help the victims under the Deen Dyal Upadhaya Awas Yojna to help rebuild their homes and provide them with rations. He also assured the victims that adequate number of tents, tarpaulins and ration would be provided to them by the state government. He also announced a relief of Rs 85,000 to 25 house owners who had lost their homes completely, Rs 25,000 each to 14 families whose houses were partially damaged and Rs 20,000 each to the injured.

He said the injured would be given the best of medical treatment by government doctors. Already the district administration had given 15 tents, 140 blankets and rations to the victims.

Pitthoragarh, May 3
Indian markets of Dharchula, Jauljivi and Jhoolaghat on the Indo-Nepal border in 
this district remained deserted today on the third consecutive day as the Nepal Bandh called by Maoist outfits barred the Nepali citizen from enter into Indian market to collect the essentials.

“The 300-shops strong Indian market of Jhoolaghat is losing more than 70 per cent of clients with not less than a sum of Rs 3 lakh sale per day after the Maoists called 
the bandh on May 1,” said Dharmanand Nariyal, president of Jhoolaghat 
Traders Union.

“Not only the Indian markets, but 50-shops strong market of Nepal across the Kali river in Jhoolaghat was also looking deserted as they depend on Indian clients,” said Nariyal.

The border town of Dharchula in also facing 60 per cent losses in clientele which mainly comes from the villages of Darchula district of Nepal to collect essential goods as they are cheap in India than Nepali markets.

“Despite our market depending 40 per cent on local clients, our main clients of essential goods come from Nepal,” said Bhupendra Thapa, president of Vyapar Mandal Dharchula. The markets in the border town of Jauljivi are also effective according to Daulat Pal, chief of the Jauljivi Vyapar Mandal.

The SSB guarding the Indo-Nepal border has sounded alert on it border observation posts after the Maoists called a bandh on May 1. The SSB officials said the Maoist had not only called a bandh, but also extracting money from government employee and traders.

“This time the common public in border town is not showing interest in Maoist despite they have forced the closure at district headquarter of Darchula district and collecting money forcefully,” said Bharat Singh Tolia commandant of SSB.

In Champawat district the markets of Tanakpur, Banbasa and Gaddachauki also witnessed fewer number of clients from Nepal and also fewer number of migrated people from India and Nepal.

Nainital, May 3
The Nainital Municipal Committee (nagar palika) is drawing up a foolproof plan to ensure some earnings from fish being extracted from the famous Naini 
lake. The fish extraction being done is a part of the bio-manipulation exercise undertaken for its 
conservation.

It is learnt that the extraction of fish is being done under the supervision of the Gobind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology at Pantnagar.

Talking to The Tribune, Mukesh Joshi, Chairman of the committee, said, “Earlier, it had been envisioned that the fish caught from the Naini lake will be sold either in the open market or be sold to an enterprise making feed for the fish.

“However, some complaints were received about the fish caught from here and being sold in Kitcha that neither the committee got any returns and nor did it help in producing a substantial quantity of fish feed. Hence it has now been decided that the fish caught will be sold in Nainital itself.”

Over the past couple of days, the committee has sold fish to the tune of Rs 8,500. The money being earned from the proceeds will be used in carrying out beautification and conservation projects related to the Naini lake.

A meeting of scientists from the Pantnagar University is scheduled to be convened over the next couple of days to decide which variety of fish is to be extracted from the lake and sold in the market.

There is a premise that not all varieties of fish are good for the health of the Naini lake and hence these varieties need to be weeded out.

The Naini lake has the distinction of being the first lake in the country 
where the process of conservation through aeration has proved to be a success. The lake is subject to a kind of dialysis with pump houses carrying out aeration to keep the lake and the creatures living in it alive.

In addition, special efforts are being made by the Lake Development Authority (LDA) to keep it clean. The lake draws lakhs of tourists to the town every year and is the biggest bread earner for the local population which is largely dependent on tourist-related activity.

A couple of weeks earlier, approximately 10,000 fingerlings of sliver carp and mahsheer were released in the Naini lake. The exercise was carried out as a part 
of the ongoing ‘Sparsh Ganga Abhiyan’ of the government. The Pantnagar University has taken the initiative to improve the aquatic environment and natural water resources of Kumaon Division.

Experts say that bio-manipulation is a well-developed advanced technique to maintain the food-chain balance in aquatic environment of lakes and ponds. Scientists of the Pantnagar University are carrying out the manipulation programme in several lakes of Kumaon including the Naini lake.

During the last decade, the golden mahsheer which is an important fish of the Naini lake, was on the verge of extinction due to extreme water pollution of the lake. But there has been significant improvement in natural fisheries and ecology of the lake after implementation of the bio-manipulation and aeration programme.

Scientists said that the aquatic condition of many lakes of the world like Finjasjohn, Ling, Wang etc. has improved and these have been conserved after following the bio-manipulation programme.

Mussoorie, May 3
A mechanic in the city has repaired a 100-year-old road roller lying in a dormant condition with the Nagar Palika, Mussoorie.

The 100-year-old road roller, a prized possession of the British era, was lying in damaged condition for the past 10 years with the Nagar Palika.

By the hard work and expertise of vehicle mechanic Masoom, stationed at Kingcraig Mussoorie, the machine has once again hit the road.

According to Masoom, the fetching of the spare parts of the vehicle was the most difficult part in reassembling it. The parts had to be brought from Saharanpur, Meerut and other areas of the country. He added that he took it as a challenge and completed the repair work in a year.

The driver of the road roller is the happiest person as he once again has the chance to drive the giant beauty.

According to Nagar Palika employees, the vehicle was an integral part of the palika property and it was decided to repair and use it. It could also be rented out to contractors to earn more revenue.

The road roller was built by Marshal Sons and Company with its offices at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Colombo 100 years ago.

Many roads were constructed with the assistance of this machine in the past. According to Gopal Bhardwaj, the palika had another such roller which was sold some years earlier.

Dehradun, May 3
A former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd), has alleged that there are many discrepancies in the proposed one-rank-one-pension scheme of the Centre and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to form a committee to look into all problems and discrepancies coming in the way of the implementation of the scheme.

General Khanduri has a large following among ex-servicemen, particularly in Uttarakhand, a state having a large number of ex-servicemen and serving defence personnel. After returning from a seven-day tour of the entire Uttarakhand, the BJP leader said the proposed “One rank one pension” decision by the UPA government at the Centre had created more ambiguities rather than paving the way for the long-pending demand of the ex-servicemen of the country.

“I toured the entire state and met thousands of ex-servicemen who are confused about the implementation of the “one rank one pension” by the Centre,” said General Khanduri.

The BJP leader, who has been a union minister in the NDA government, said LK Advani had raised the issue on March 5 and the Prime Minister had clarified that “One rank one pension” had been given but the situation has not changed. “The letter issued by the Centre is also unclear since it only talks about Personnel Below Officers Rank (PBOR),” he added.

General Khanduri said it was in the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991 that it was principally agreed to give “one rank one pension” to the ex-servicemen but still the things were uncertain and unclear. “The protests by the ex-servicemen, some of them even returning their gallantry medals, point towards the problems in the implementation of the scheme”.

A buoyant Khanduri, who got a tremendous response from party workers, leaders and general public during his tour, said he had been working hard to prepare the party cadres for the assembly elections in 2012.

Khanduri also blamed the Centre for not being sincere on the demand of the state for extension of the industrial package. He charged that instead of helping the state, Congress leaders are trying to confuse the issue by talking about economic package. “There is difference between economic and industrial package and the Congress should refrain from hoodwinking the people. The Union Government should come clear on the extension of industrial package,” he added.

Mussoorie, May 3
Qawwali and a singing programme was held on the occasion of annual Urs at the tomb of Baba Hajrat Khwaja Sahib at Sanjha Darbar on the Mussoorie-Kempty road.

The devotees in large numbers gathered to seek blessings by offering chadar at the tomb of the Baba Hajrat Khwaja. The celebrations began with the songs dedicated to Goddess Durga and followed by a qawwali presentation by Madan Parwana, Sripal Sabri and Moti Lal Sabri in praise of Baba Hajrat Sahib.

Bhandara and prasad were also distributed on the occasion. The tomb is called Sanjha Darbar because the figurine of Goddess Durga and Baba's tomb are placed side by side. The Urs was organised by the Sanjha Darbar Sarvdharm Samiti, Mussoorie.

Dehradun, May 3
The District Court today pronounced life sentence and Rs 10,000 each as fine for two accused who had shot dead two persons eight years ago.

Pramod Pundir and Rajesh Goswami were awarded the sentence by the ADG (Dehradun) and have been sent to jail. They had killed Abhay Kumar and Rajesh on November 14, 2002, near Lakharbagh.

Their bodies were later dumped in an isolated place. The bodies were recovered by the police a few days later. The police had then arrested the two accused and produced them in court.

Dehradun, May 3
Forest Research Institute’s five-day training programme for Haryana Forest Department foresters started here today.

Inaugurating the training programme, Head of the Silviculture Division Dr VRR Singh called upon the participating foresters to take full benefit from the training programme.

Describing bamboo as big natural resources in itself, Dr Singh said the bamboo kept potential to provide good economic returns to the growers. He said states like Himachal Pradesh have extremely benefited from bamboo.

Group Coordinator Research FRI Arun Singh Rawat said the foresters after completion of training could replicate these technologies in their state for preparing quality planting stock of bamboo and promote bamboo plantations.

Botany Head of Division Dr Subhash Nautiyal said the FRI had been organising programmes both of state forest departments and the farmers to disseminate various technologies in the field. He disclosed that the National Bamboo Mission, New Delhi, had been supporting the bamboo training programmes.

Scientist M Bakshi coordinated the proceedings. 

Dehradun, May 3
The police departments of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are in for a major coordination to zero in on chain snatchers and auto thieves.

The state capital police has prepared a list of incidents of chain snatching and auto thefts of the past three years. The state capital police will work in coordination with the Haridwar police, Meerut police, Muzaffarnagar police and the Saharanpur police to start a drive against miscreants.

Senior police officers said most of the criminals involved in these incidents hailed from western parts of UP. The police will keep a tab of the chain snatchers and auto thieves who have come out of the jail after completing their sentence.

The cops will also check the records of such criminals in these four districts and would investigate about their whereabouts in the past three years.

Police officials said if need be they would also tie up with other neighbouring states.

Meanwhile, the local police has been given fresh instructions. To improve public dealing in the police stations, an inspector will always be present there from 10am to 2pm in the absence of another inspector. Senior officers will take stock of the police stations where crime in the past four months has increased and of the cases that haven’t been worked out for long.

Nainital, May 3
The Municipal Council of Almora is witnessing an all-out war among councillors of two major parties, the Congress and the BJP, with the latter resorting to an agitation against MC Chairperson Shobha Joshi.

For the past three days, the BJP councillors have been staging a dharna against delays in the construction works undertaken by the MC. They are also demanding a probe into an advance payment made to a contractor for the construction of a building. The agitators have been alleging that the Chairperson is not serious about carrying out developmental activities in the town and their repeated pleas, including submission of a series of memorandums, have got no response from her.

Joshi on the other hand has refuted all these charges saying that the noise is being made purely on account of political considerations. The Almora MC has a total strength of 16 members out of which five are nominated by the state government.

Talking to The Tribune, Joshi, who is from the Congress, said: “Why is it that only two elected members and five nominated ones are creating a noise while others are satisfied with the works being done”.

Interestingly, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has also got involved in the affairs of the MC and has announced its support for the agitating members. The organisation is talking about approaching Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on the issue.

Joshi pointed out: “It is with great difficulty that we are getting things done. Six major posts, including those of executive officer, sanitation officer and accounts officer, are lying vacant and the state government is doing nothing about it. Neither has it come forward to provide us with relevant funds to carry out developmental works. Instead, it is just turning a blind eye to the trouble being faced by us”.

On the issue of making an advance payment to a contractor for getting a construction job done, she said the payment had been made as per a contract drawn out with the full knowledge of all the councillors. She went on to say that the delay in the construction of two other buildings was on account of failure of soil test of the samples which she was trying to get tested again from the Soil Testing Laboratory, Roorkee. 

Mussoorie, May 3
A lightning caused major damage at Ranogi village in Jaunpur block, Tehri Garhwal district, about 50 km from here, yesterday. A buffalo was killed while the place where it struck was torn into two halves. The belongings of Bhagani Devi were also damaged.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident of cloudburst at Bangsil village, Dhanaulti Nayab Teshsildar Virendar Singh visited the spot.