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Khanduri, Koshiyari bury hatchet
Women staff protest against pay irregularities
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Dentists feel discouraged with no cadre, promotions available
Doon experts restore Santiniketan paintings
Ambrish Kumar, former legislator from Haridwar, addresses a meeting at Shiv Moorti Chowk in Haridwar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Board chief asks men to join hands against domestic violence
Mob attacks cops during demolition drive, 5 held
BHEL has bagful of
orders
Power projects: Seven bidders back out
Nishank tells DMs to have feel of rural life
Inspector-General Ajay Kumar takes salute from recruits at the PAC Battalion centre in Haridwar on Tuesday: Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Nishank congratulates award winners
Two arrested for eve teasing
Cheque presented to Rajbar’s widow
Minister Khajan Das presents a cheque to the widow of Major Rajbar in Dehradun on Tuesday. Tribune photo
Roadways staff continue stir
Polling for U’khand RS seat on June 17
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Khanduri, Koshiyari bury hatchet
Dehradun, May 11 However, the visit paid by General Khanduri to Koshiyari yesterday assumes significance in the internal politics of the ruling BJP in the state. After the assembly elections of 2007 which both leaders spearheaded together on the directions of the party high command, General Khanduri became the choice of the party high command much to the chagrin of Koshiyari who refused to be part of the state government. More than two years’ tenure of General Khanduri was marked by continuous nagging by Koshiyari who led the legislators against him. The party high command did try to resolve the issue by making Koshiyari, a member of the Rajya Sabha, but things did not improve and General Khanduri had to leave in June, 2009. Interestingly, instead of Koshiyari, party decided on Nishank, a candidate of General Khanduri from Garhwal. But, in the changed political equation with a relatively younger Chief Minister at the helm of affairs, both these senior leaders felt marginalised, forcing them to join hands. The bonhomie has not come suddenly but with the realisation that both, if together, could become a powerful force. Both of them are towering leaders of their respective regions. While, General Khanduri belongs to Garhwal and is a Brahmin, Koshiyari, a Thakur by caste, is senior-most BJP leader from the Kumaon region. The newfound love of these two senior BJP leaders does not bode well for Nishank. The statements of these two leaders for the past sometime indicated that they were not happy with the present dispensation in the state. General Khanduri had ridiculed the idea of the Chief Minister to lay claim to Nobel prize for a successful conduct of the Maha Kumbh in Haridwar. On the other hand, Koshiyari, at a function in Haridwar two days ago, admitted that there were shortcomings in the Maha Kumbh. These statements ran contradictory to the claims of the Chief Minister about the Maha Kumbh. According to party insiders, both leaders were reportedly unhappy with the developments in the state and were worried about the worsening power situation. They were reportedly concerned about the BJP fortunes in the next assembly elections of February, 2012, which are fast approaching. |
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Women staff protest against pay irregularities
Haridwar, May 11 The agitating women workers allege that though during the recruitment they were appointed on a higher pay scale, yet after almost a year to go, they have not been given the said pay scale. They point out that they are being paid only Rs 3,500 per month only. Perturbed women employees, after conveying to the Human Resources Department, finally decided to protest yesterday and staged a massive protest at the company factory gate. Raising slogans against the company management the women employees threatened to halt the work if their demands were not met instantly. “We were hired on a pay package much higher than what we are receiving. “Initially, they said they would adjust the pending amount in the coming salaries, but nothing had been done so far though the company was making huge profits,” said a woman worker on the condition of anonymity. After an agitation, the management interfered and had talks with the workers. Finally, the HR officer gave an assurance that she would personally look into the matter and the pay irregularities would be resolved soon. She urged workers to postpone their agitation. |
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Dentists feel discouraged with no cadre, promotions available
Dehradun, May 11 Most of the demands of the doctors could not be taken up in the absence of a dental cadre and framing up of service rules. The dentists in the past were exempted from promotions on one excuse or the other, foremost being that a separate cadre and seniority list did not exist. Besides, there is great disparity in the salary been given to a dentist in comparison to MBBS doctors. There are several super specialist dentists, who had done MS and MD, but are getting meagre salary. As a result some of the dentists working in government medical institutions had resigned from service in recent past. There was a need for setting up multi-specialty dental clinics in government hospitals and upgrading the ones at the Doon Hospital and Coronation Hospital. “Qualified dental surgeons are busy just extracting loose teeth. If multi-specialty dental clinics are set up, it will be of immense help to patients, who will get treatment for endodontia, pedodontia, periodontia, prosthodontia, orthodontia etc under one roof at very nominal fees,” said Dr KP Sharma, President, Provincial Dental Doctors Service Association. Since the creation of the state, only doctors barring and no dentists were considered for promotions. Even DPCs were also undertaken thrice but the dentists were however kept out of the purview. In all there are 78 dental surgeons in the state. Commonly a dental unit with nine multi-specialty branches comprising of endodontia, pedodontia, periodontia, prosthodontia, orthodontia etc can be found in several modern government hospitals in the country. However, in the absence of these units here, patients in need of restorative treatment are forced to visit private clinics, where fee charges start from Rs 20,000. Besides the dentists are also kept out of the frame work of Tickoo Commission Recommendations and were not even entitled for grade pay.“We were baffled by the state government’s preferential treatment. We were denied time bound promotions since the last eight years. We too are part of the Health Department, but our demands are continuously being ignored. Only six promotions were undertaken this year that too pending since the UP days,” said DR KP Sharma.
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Doon experts restore Santiniketan paintings
Dehradun, May 11 The experts have completed half the work of restoration and conservation of mural paintings dominating the walls of Santoshalaya and Dinantika at Santiniketan, this year’s official entry for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The project becomes all the more significant as the country is observing the 150th birth anniversary of Tagore. “Mural restoration and consolidation at Santoshalaya and Dinantika is in different stages. After completing some portion of it early this year, we intend to take up some more work this month,” said Dr KS Rana, Director, Science Branch of the ASI. It is a challenging job to preserve a living heritage and a private building which is not declared an ASI-protected monument. The mandate given to the ASI was to arrest the damage brought on these paintings by weather and passage of time. The murals at Santoshalaya and Dinantika are drawn on the lines of those at the Ajanta caves while the paintings on the ceiling are heavily inspired by the Japanese style. Senior artiste Ranjan Chakraborty from the ASI said to maintain authenticity of the paintings, nothing was added or removed. Only bulging repair and removal of dust and roots was carried. To provide a foolproof protection to the murals and paintings, a two-layered binding comprising malmal cloth and scientific adhesive has been made. Santoshalaya, a single-storey structure with a tiled roof is named after Santoshchandra Majumdar, one of the first students of the Santiniketan Vidyalaya. Santoshalaya is a hostel for students of the school. Walls of this structure have frescoes prepared by artists of the 20s. While Dinantika, built in 1939, is an octagonal two-storey structure originally used as a tea-house with the staircase built outside. Staff members of Visva Bharati would meet in the evening for a cup of tea and relax there. The Cha Chakra, as it was called, was a haven for scholars who shared their thoughts over a cup of tea. Artistes Benod Bihari Mukhopadhyay and Nandlal Bose would hold extempore discussions. The walls of this structure have colourful frescoes painted by Nandalal Bose, who went on to become the Principal of Kala Bhavan at Visva Bharati University.
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Ex-MLA slams govt over Kumbh
Haridwar, May 11 Under the aegis of the Rashtriya Krantikari Manch (RKM), a protest-cum-meeting namely “Poll Khol Abhiyan” was organised at Shiv Moorti Chowk wherein apart from RKM leaders, people from various segments spoke. Terming the just-concluded Maha Kumbh-2010 in Haridwar as a fair that will be remembered for the rampant corruption and usage of state administration machinery for its own cause, Ambrish lashed out at the BJP government even terming the Kumbh corruption as a blow to the ideals of democracy. “People repose faith in the BJP government and crores of pilgrims in the mela administration for providing the best of the facility, but ministers, in collusion with mela officers, filled their lockers out of the Kumbh funds. Perpetrating such acts in the name of the Kumbh, the BJP that takes pride in calling itself a pro-Hindu party did an anti-Hindu act,” said Ambrish, who had left the Samajwadi Party immediately after the last parliamentary elections results came out. Commenting on Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s claim to the Nobel prize for Kumbh hosting, Ambrish remarked that Dr Nishank by lobbying for the Nobel had exposed his mentality. “On which basis he (Nishank) is seeking the Nobel? On the dead bodies of those who got killed in the Birla Ghat incident or those who are still in search of those who got lost in the stampede after the incident or for the inconvenience caused to the pilgrims and locals during the Kumbh?” he said, addressing a jam-packed audience. Taking the Congress too to a severe criticism, Ambrish said while the BJP carried on misusing Kumbh funds, the Congress complemented the BJP by keeping silence on the issue and never ever seriously essayed the role of chief Opposition party in the state. Informing The Tribune about his manch’s agenda, Ambrish said he was go to the public with four issues related to Kumbh. He thanked people of Dhanpura who didn’t let the BJP succeed in its alleged nefarious designs to fuel communal violence in the veil of the RSS march past wherein Uttarakhand’s cabinet minster took part. Among those who participated in the agitation were Som Tyagi, Dharam Pal Thekedar, Gawansh Joshi, Manoj Babbal, Rajendra Chutaila, Kamla Mukherjee, Yashpal Malik, Sabir, Kapil Raja, Pramod Raja, Amit Raja and Ashwini Sharma.
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Board chief asks men to join hands against domestic violence
Mussoorie, May 11 Nirupama further said the root cause of women harassment was the drinking habit of men, hence a campaign against anti-liquor was very important. She also informed that the department was promoting opening of de-addiction centres in the state. She said women were at the receiving end in the cases of domestic violence, which could be in any form. She said domestic violence could be psychological, mental, social, financial, physical or sexual. Violence could be criminal and included physical assault, sexual abuse or stalking. Her department was actively involved in solving such complaints in the state, she added. She also talked about the government’s commitment to open such family counselling centres in far-flung villages where women could receive justice in time. She said mass awareness campaigns would also be started soon in the state against such violence against women. She heard grievances of a woman with two children, Rajni Khetwal who was being assaulted by her liquor-addicted husband and was living separately due to the violence incurred upon her. On hearing the complaint, Nirupama immediately directed the officials to lodge an FIR in this regard at Mussoorie police station. She advised her to bring up the matter with the state Women Commission. Nirupama also informed that one de-addiction centre would be established in Mussoorie soon. She also inspected the family council centre at Library Bazar.
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Mob attacks cops during demolition drive, 5 held
Nainital, May 11 According to information, a group of Muslims allegedly tried to cover up a gallery adjoining a madarsa in the Paharganj area with reinforced cement concrete (RCC). Officials said the said place was a disputed piece of land and there was a direction of the Uttarakhand High Court that no fresh construction be allowed there. This led to the civic authorities demolishing the newly constructed portion which was opposed by a section of the Muslims who also tried to initiate violence. Five persons were arrested from the spot for creating trouble and disturbing public harmony. A rumour doing the rounds that the demolition had been carried out at the behest of Hindutva forces added to the trouble. This led to an irate mob of Muslims creating a scene at the local police station and the mob also resorted to stone pelting at the police station. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) GN Goswami told The Tribune, “The mob had to be thwarted with the use of a little force. Things are under control now”. Over the past couple of months, Rudrapur and its adjoining area have witnessed a series of attempts to stir up communal trouble by certain anti-social elements. Timely interventions by the police and the administration have been preventing trouble.
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BHEL has bagful of
orders
Haridwar, May 11 Put in financial terms the figures turn out to be staggering. The orders amount to Rs 3,37,870 million, which incidentally is more than triple the previous year’s figures. According to the Ranipur unit BHEL management, high orders is proof of the product quality, project execution capabilities, service reliability and engineering excellence the public sector undertaking has been giving out for decades. A spokesman for BHEL said orders were received from corporates such as ACC, Abhijit, Adhunik, Avantha, Hindalco, Indiabulls, Jaypee Group, Jindal Power, Sterlite, Tatas and Videocon. A major achievement was the receipt of a bulk order of 10 sets each of 270 MW each from the Indiabulls Group. Significantly, BHEL secured total orders worth Rs 5,90,310 million while operating in a competitive domestic and overseas market. At the end of the financial year 2009-10, BHEL had highest ever orders at Rs 14,38,000 million in hand for execution of 2010-11 and beyond. Out of the total orders of Rs 5,90,310 million received in the year, the Power Sector business segment had a major contribution of Rs 4,19,760 crore followed by the Industry Sector with Rs 1,43,660 million and international operations at Rs 35,710 million. BHEL has also established the capability to deliver 15,000 MW of power equipment per annum and further augmentation to 20,000 MW per annum is under way. During fiscal 2009-10, BHEL power equipment generated an all time high of 490 billion units of electricity, constituting 74 per cent of the total power generated in the country.
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Power projects: Seven bidders back out
Pitthoragarh, May 11 “Nine bidders have withdrawn giving in writing while seven have not answered our queries,” said Prakash Pant, cabinet minister. “According to our micro hydro policy of 2008, in order to bid for generation of 960 MW of electricity, the government received 700 applications out of which 175 bidders were selected. Fiftysix bidders were identified in the first stage, out of these three bidders were for projects of 100 kv generation, nine for 1-5 MW and 44 for 5-25 MW generation capacity,” said Pant. According to Pant, owing to Uttarakhand government’s strict conditions, no fake or ingenuine bidder can stay in this field. At present, the state has in the pipeline 3,250 MW capacity hydro power projects out of a total surveyed capacity of 25,000 MW. “The government has made it clear that maximum electricity generation out of river projects will be done by the state corporation. The Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam has identified 16 projects to be implemented by it. We are also organising the state Irrigation Department to be able to exploit the vast hydro power potential in the state via run-of-the-river method,” said Pant. “The Congress government has allotted big projects to outside bidders and did not care for the interest of the state which has resulted in the losses worth Rs 1,000 crore to the state,” he alleged.
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Nishank tells DMs to have feel of rural life
Nainital, May 11 The directions were given to the DMs at a video-conferencing session held yesterday in which it was insisted that the grievances of people residing in rural areas be addressed at the earliest. District-level officials have also been told not to proceed towards the state capital without prior permission. The DMs have been asked to take stringent action against those officials who make frequent trips to Dehradun without prior clearance. Dr Nishank told the DMs that development works being executed in different districts be speeded up. They have been told to carry out random inspections to take stock of medical facilities being provided to the masses, functioning of the Public Distribution System
(PDS), attendance in government offices and functioning of educational institutions in their respective districts. The officials were told to ensure that the people were not devoid of basic facilities like potable water, power supply, road connectivity and educational facilities. The Chief Minister underlined that the District Education Officers would be held responsible if any lacunae were to be found in the education system that had been put in place across the state. The officers have also been asked to carry out weekly assessment of their respective districts to gauge the performance of various departments in executing developmental works in the district. |
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PAC gets 86 new recruits
Haridwar, May 11 At a lavish ceremony Inspector General of the PAC Ajay Kumar took the salute of the passing recruits’ parade and gave a pledge of duty to the newly inducted. The 86 recruits are from the districts of Pitthoragarh, Almora and Bageshwar districts. This batch’s maiden posting will be done at Dehradun and Haridwar districts. DIG, Mela, Alok Sharma urged the recruits to have high standards of duty so that they not only make their battalion and the state proud, but also the country. In the overall category, cadet Vinod Kumar was adjudged the best cadet in the overall training regimen. A large number of PAC as well as district police officials participated in the ceremony.
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Nishank congratulates award winners
Dehradun, May 11 In his congratulatory message, Dr Nishank said Shiva through her organisation, Navdanya, has been encouraging organic farming and raising awareness on food security. He also extended congratulations to Nirmala Pandey, an ANM working at the Mehuwala Health Centre, for being chosen for the Florence Nightingale Award-2010. Pandey will receive the coveted award tomorrow at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan. Pandey has done exemplary work in the area of family planning and pulse polio.
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Two arrested for eve teasing
Dehradun, May 11 Acting on a complaint, the cops arrested two of them while the other two are absconding. There were also reports that fire shots were made by the miscreants during the incident, but the police categorically denied this. The police said the two who had showed the pistol fled the spot, while the other two who were with them were caught by the public. The Patelnagar police hadn’t registered the case till the filing of this report. The women had alleged that they were walking near the chowk when the four youths came there and started commenting at them. When one of the women protested, they showed him a pistol. However, people present there caught hold of two of them. |
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Cheque presented to Rajbar’s widow
Dehradun, May 11 Uttarakhand Social Welfare and Disaster Management Minister Khajan Das, as representative of the Chief Minister, went to the GMS Road-situated house of the Major and handed over the cheque to his wife
Shivani. He also assured the family to help them in every cause and gave instructions to the District Magistrate in this regard.
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Roadways staff continue stir
Dehradun, May 11 The agitators have demanded to take back the sacked workers and to take strict action against the officials. The federation would take out a rally on May 19. It has threatened the administration to close all depots in the state if and action was not be taken on their demands.
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Polling for U’khand RS seat on June 17
Dehradun, May 11 The last date for the filing of nomination has been kept for June 7, while scrutiny will be done on June 8. Similarly, June 10 has been kept as the last date for withdrawal of names. The polling will take place on June 17 from 9 am to 4 pm. The counting of votes will take place on the same day after 5 pm. |
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Kaushal nominated
Dehradun, May 11
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