Haridwar, May 6
Though the Maha Kumbh is over and various camps, including those of the mela police, have been dismantled, the Akhada Parishad is still in the news. Considering the parishad’s role during the Kumbh, the mela administration has invited suggestions and sought to shift shahi snan venue from Brahm Kund to Neel Dhara during future Kumbhs.

A meeting was called by parishad’s executive members to discuss the mela administration’s move to seek Akhada Parishad’s views, suggestions on the shifting of akhada camps outside the city so that there is less congestion in the old city during the future Ardh Kumbh (year 2016) and the Maha Kumbh (year 2021) in Haridwar.

Just when there was a near consensus among the parishad members over shifting the camps outside the city, Mahant Swami Ramanand Puri expressed unhappiness over the administration’s suggestion that while religious signs, charan padukas be kept installed at akhadas, other arrangements be put up in the new Kumbh area outside the city.

Members of the parishad tried to pacify Swami Ramananda Puri, who is also the national spokesman for the parishad, but to no avail. Instead Puri raised the question of unscheduled election dates of the Akhada Parishad executive council.

As three akhadas did not attend the meeting, parishad chief Mahant Gyad Das said at the meeting the election issue could not be taken up. But, the talks took a heated turn and Swami Ramanand Puri along with three saints boycotted the meeting. To this Mahant Gyan Das removed with instant effect Ramanand Puri from his post of national spokesman on the grounds of indiscipline and causing harm to the parishad’s reputation and image.

Dehradun, May 6
The state, which breathed a sigh of relief at the improved power condition for the past couple of days, has to go through the same power cut, but on different timing. Instead of 10 am to 1 pm, the cut has been shifted to 11 am to 3 pm.

Today, Maneri Bhali Power House I and II was shut down for flushing in this duration, which caused a loss of 300 MW and 17 million units.

Managing Director, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), Jagmohan Lal, said, “Maneri Bhali I and II remained shut today for flushing (cleanliness) purpose from 11 am to 3 pm. This could have meant in a long power cut. Instead of doing load shedding in the morning, we shifted the cut timing and coincided it with the shut down of Maneri Bhali project”.

For the betterment of the power condition in the state, the Electricity Regulatory Commission has now come down heavily on commercial sector to manage its load and equitable distribution of electricity.

In its order, all non-essential consumption needs are to be discouraged during peak hours from 6 am to 11 am. Accordingly, the licencee is required to put a ban on the use of electricity for the purpose of glow signs, neon lights, signboards, flood lights, etc during the peak hours.

Consumers violating these provisions for the first time will be served a notice. But second time, their supply will be cut with immediate effect for three consecutive days.

The same penalty will keep recurring if the defaulter breaks the rule time and again.

Not harsh on people, the commission has appealed to the public to reduce all non-essential consumption such as ACs, geysers, hot plates, decorative lights, etc.

A UPCL officer said, “The Uttar Pardesh government is quite strict even on consumers and has limited the use of ACs, but Uttarakhand has not thought on these terms. We are just appealing to the consumers to exercise their caution on the use”.

Mussoorie, May 6
The ripples of the corruption charges against Nishank-led BJP government on the allotment of power projects in the state were felt in Mussoorie too. Congress workers burnt an effigy of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at the Jhoola Ghar here today.

Led by city Congress president Bhagwan Singh Dhanai, state Congress organisation secretary Manmohan Singh Mall, president Congress Mahila Morcha, Youth Congress, NSUI and other outfits of the party raised slogans against the Nishank government and held a protest meeting against the alleged irregularities in the allotment of hydro-electric projects in the state.

Addressing the media, Mall sought the resignation from Chief Minister Nishank on moral grounds. He lamented the fact that the Nishank government was not sparing even its party leaders and seeking a bribe from them. He commended the honesty with which BJP district president Ratan Singh Gunsola had come out in the open against corrupt practices followed by his own government in the allotment of the power projects and assured the Congress party support in its tirade against the corruption in the power sector.

Mall also demanded a CBI probe in the entire allotment irregularity. Corruption in Minor Irrigation had also come to the fore in Jaunpur Block, but no action had been initiated. Satish Dhaundiyal, Ram Prasad Kavi, Madhuri Nautiyal, Javed Khan, Rajat Agarwal, Santosh Bauthiyal, Virendar Rawat, Rais Khan, Vinod and Shailendar Bisht were present on the occasion.

In addition, Tehri Lok Sabha president Sunil Sonkar has also demanded inquiry in the matter and if the govt does not adhere to it, then the BSP will protest in the streets of Uttarakhand. 

Haridwar, May 6
An agitation started by the Hind Rashtriya Awami Hukook Party to demand shelters for the poor got intensified today when hundreds of party activists, who are homeless, took to the streets to raise their demand.

The agitation had been started on the premises of the Municipal Committee, which, according to the party, is deliberately keeping mum on their demands. What makes this movement different is that Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and people from other sects have come on one platform in support of their demand.

Led by Awami Hukook founder Mohammed Murslein Quereshi, hundreds of men, women, children, elderly party activists took out a rally in the city that culminated on the MC premises. The agitators are seeking benefits under Central government-aided housing schemes such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Housing Scheme, Lal Bahadur Shastri Housing, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Housing and other aided schemes for the poor and minority sections who don’t have a roof to live under. They pointed out that these schemes were implemented more on paper than on the ground.

Quereshi, talking to The Tribune, said the main problem was that officers concerned were corrupt. They were denying the real beneficiaries shelters while allocating houses to those who were already financially strong.

“Thousands of poor persons are living in Haridwar in the open despite governments running several projects to provide shelter to them. Municipality employees are doing nothing regarding our demands and our files are not even given a look, forcing us to take the agitational route,” said Quereshi.

A memorandum was also submitted to the executive officer of the municipality after burning an effigy of municipality officers on the MC premise. Mazid Quereshi, Qalim Quereshi, Sajjid, Gopal Kumar, Pandit Geeta Ram Dhyani, Sardar Omkar Singh, Naushad Begum, Rizwana, Sanjeeda, Suman, Vimla, Sonia, Sitara Begum, Godawari Devi and Asha Devi were among others who addressed the gathering.

Dehradun, May 6
A day after the Congress burnt BJP’s effigy over the hydro-power allotment issue, today it was the turn of the BJP to take the Congress to task over the industrial package.

The BJP workers reached the Clock Tower and set ablaze a joint effigy of five Congress MPs from Uttarakhand accusing them of doing little to convince the party at the Centre for ensuring an industrial package for the state.

Goverdhan Bharadwaj said the Congress was deliberately rendering a step-motherly treatment towards Uttarakhand, and that too when the party had five MPs from the state.

Councillor Jeewan Singh, Sanjay Gupta, Sacgub Sareen, Vinod Sharma, Sitaram Rangad, Rakesh Malhotra, Mahesh Pandey and Ashish Nagrath were prominent among the protesters.

Dehradun, May 6
Governor Margaret Alva has offered condolences to the families of the two brave sons of Uttarakhand, Major Yogendra Singh Rajwar and Rifleman Uttam Singh, who laid down their lives in the service of their motherland while fighting terrorists in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.

She has expressed sympathy for the grieving families of the martyrs. “May their example inspire our people. May God grant strength to their near and dear ones to bear this irreparable loss,” she prayed.

Dehradun, May 6
At the receiving end of complaining patients, government doctors today sought protection to their life and property by coming up with an Act on the lines of Maharashtra.

This plea comes in the backdrop of families of patients raising questions about the treatment given to them at the Doon Hospital and District Women’s Hospital in the past couple of months.

Addressing a press conference today, Dr SD Joshi, Secretary of the Provincial Medical and Health Services (PMHS), Uttarakhand, said doctors too were vulnerable, more so when family members of patients turned violent physically assaulting them.

He said Doon Hospital was a tertiary health centre where patients in serious condition were referred. “There are bound to be deaths and despite the serious condition of the patient, doctors try their level best,” he stressed.

For the past several days, the hospital has been at the centre of a controversy regarding the treatment given to a small boy (Aman) which was first reported in The Tribune.

The boy, who was suffering from fits and was admitted to the children’s ward of the Doon Hospital, reportedly turned blue after an injection was administered to him. Following this, a small portion of his thumb had to be cut off.

Presenting his side of the story, Dr DS Rawat, senior pediatrician, said the child was responding favourably to the treatment and even referred to the super-specialist. “His condition is improving, but for the portion of the thumb that was removed after it was discovered that he was suffering from vascular occident”.

A three-member committee of doctors formed by the CMS, Doon Hospital, comprising Dr Archana Srivastav, pediatrician, Dr KC Pant, senior physician, and Dr SK Gupta, orthopaedist, will present their report by May 10.

In another incident, a patient admitted in a state of threatened abortion lost her life. Her family members charged the hospital for negligence. In both cases, a three-member committee was formed to look into the charges.

Dr DP Joshi, Secretary of PMHS, said one-sided reporting in the media was affecting the morale of the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. They were overworked, but they were doing their best, he said.

He also asked the media not to sensationalise cases and present the correct picture of the incident. “Every incident at the hospital is being politicised. Some family members of patients in the hope of getting compensation are acting under the influence of vested interests,” said DP Joshi. 

Dehradun, May 6
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) made its stand clear on giving preference to locals in government and private jobs, asked for fair action on removing illegal hoardings and a CBI inquiry in the distribution of hydro-electric projects.

Speaking on the issues, former party president BD Raturi said, “We got to know from an RTI application that for the state-bound government services domicile certificates are no longer required. We sought an immediate government order to make domicile mandatory for the state government services”.

Raturi also spoke about the BJP and the Congress being hand in glove with each other over the hoarding policy. He also raised a finger at Mayor Vinod Chamoli for sparing a prominent leader’s building, which was flouting the hoarding norms in a hoarding-free zone. “Not only the Mayor, but the MNA, who has been sent by the state government, is also making sure that hoardings of his bosses and the Chief Minister are not removed. We want a fair treatment in the application of the hoarding policy”.

City president Bahadur Singh Rawat slammed the state government for getting taint in the distribution of hydro-power projects.

He said, “We have always been in favour of giving local employment through these hydro projects. But if these are given to private players, the problem of unemployment will continue and the state will also lose revenue. Instead of taking the responsibility of providing power to the entire country by starting a number of hydro projects, the state needs to organise its power projects keeping its water resources and environment in consideration”.

He said whether the state government survived or not, the inquiry of possible scams in the distribution should be handed over to the CBI.

Dehradun, May 6
The historic judgement by the Supreme Court of death sentence to Ajmal Kasab, the lone convict of the 26/11 massacre, today gave a respite to many people across the country as well as abroad.

It was in this context, the Uttarakhand Punjabi Sangathan paid tributes to the martyrs of the Mumbai terror attack at Clock Tower here today.

Contented with the verdict of the court, Vijay Singh Chauhan, chief patron of the association, said the judgement had proved that democracy and justice still prevailed in the country. The result of the court must have given some a sigh of relief to the kin of the deceased, who lost their lives in the mayhem.

President of the association Devender Singh Sethi, Harish Virmani, Deep Vohra, Gaurav Kumar, Tejender Gulati and many more were present at the gathering.

Dehradun, May 6
In order to provide a complete information about diabetes care and treatment, Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib Hospital is coming up with a website that will be launched by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

Stating this today, Dr Anil Bhatt, Chief Medical Officer, Diabetes and Cardiac Department, Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib Hospital, said: “More and more patients in India are falling prey to the disease that is prevalent among all classes of patients. Many of them do not know that faulty lifestyle is also giving rise to diabetes. To educate patients we thought of coming up with a website”.

The hospital is also running a dedicated diabetes clinic, approved to undertake international research in diabetes. Dr Sanjay Sethi, eye surgeon, is also rendering services at the clinic.