|
|
|
|
Statehood agitators ‘deprived’ of rights
Village development officers to take charge of info officers soon
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Stone of Aggarwal community centre laid
Training institute for medical, engg aspirants opened
Alva mourns death of air crash victims
Encroachments hit rly projects in Kumaon
Four killed in road accidents
Having failed in exam again, boy kills himself
Mumbai police arrests one for making threat calls
PPP initiative for poor heart patients fails
Yoga camp concludes
Sensationalism puts scientific news in wrong perspective: science writers
Dietician shares secrets of Kareena-like body
|
|
Statehood agitators ‘deprived’ of rights
Dehradun, May 23 “People who were in the limelight during the time of the agitation for seeking a separate state identification for people of Uttarakhand were given importance, but people who genuinely fought but were not put in jail, are deprived of their rights. Our demand is to give them the same importance and recognition for their peaceful life ahead,” said Manoj Dhyani, co-cordiantor of the sangh. The movement of the andolankaris, from the days of its inception, has been bringing matters to the forefront pertaining to the welfare of Uttarakhand and agitators. However, to put forth the needs and problems of the agitators into the limelight, the federation has addressed a memorandum to the state government in a press conference and have threatened to take out a procession to the Secretariat demonstrating their demands on May 24. SC drumbeaters too want their share in schemes
Ignored by successive governments, drumbeaters belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC) are now demanding that they be acknowledged for playing a key role in the Uttarakhand agitation. During the Uttarakhand agitation it was the drumbeater or Auji who sounded the bugle leading the procession from the front and the rest of the statehood leaders used to follow them. But they were never given credit for the role. “Sadly the government that takes pride in the cultural heritage of the state, has forgotten the role the drumbeaters played in the Uttarakhand agitation,” said Jitender, member of Samta Andolan and heading Himalaya Sanskriti, Evam Shiksha Sansthan, Uttarkashi. He was speaking at a public hearing held today during a workshop about human rights issues of women and artisans of Uttarakhand, organised by the Samta Andolan, Uttarakhand. Calling upon the government to give them their due, Jitender said the poor drumbeaters played a vital role in motivating the statehood protestors. “Since they did not go to jail nor were they arrested, does not mean that their role was small,” he said. The public hearing was presided over by Suresh Rathore, Vice-Chairman of the Uttarakhand
SC/ST Commission. The other issues raised during public hearing were members of Scheduled Castes be allowed entry in the temples and complaints against Bhojan Matas who were practicing discrimination also came up. Senior IAS officer Chander Singh, who was present at the hearing, said several temples in the state still didn’t allow SCs to take part in religious rituals. The members also decried the governments lack of initiative in launching special schemes for members of
SC communities. |
|
|
Village development officers to take charge of info officers soon
Haridwar, May 23 Instead of these village heads, the information mantle will don the profile of the Village Development Officer (VDO). This will ensure easy access for people as VDOs have a permanent office, besides more timely and precise flow of dissemination of information. This was informed by state Information Commissioner Vinod Nautiyal who was in the city to attend several functions. Several complaints came up before the state Information Commissioner during his visit. Residents complained that since the village panchayats did not have a permanent office, villagers faced several problems at the time when they needed to deposit fees or needed some information. Nautiyal said the Right to Information Act, 2005, was a revolution in itself and had opened doors which seemed closed for the information seeker. Elaborating on his tenure, Nautiyal said his focus was to provide correct information to the litigant, which was the core essence of the Act. He informed that all those institutions which directly or indirectly got aid from the government came under the RTI and, similarly, the industrial units that were put up in Uttarakhand too came under the ambit of the Act. However, irrelevant and vague information also put unnecessary burden on the officers. In comparison to some other states, Uttarakhand lagged behind in utilising the tool of RTI. The Information Commissioner said lack of awareness about the Act was one of the reasons behind it. |
|
|
Stone of Aggarwal community centre laid
Dehradun, May 23 Dr Nishank recalled the contribution of the Aggarwal community in the service of the society. He said there were communities which had made a mark in life by helping out people. He called upon the community to play an active role in development of the state. Nishank reminded that the state had an annual revenue of Rs 165 crore during the time of formation of the state, which had now increased to Rs 2,500 crore annually. The Chief Minister assured all cooperation from his government towards the implementation of charitable schemes initiated by Aggarwal Charitable Trust. Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat saw a greater role of the community in the development of the state. He said the community since ages had played a key role in the progress of the country. Rishikesh MLA Premchand Agarwal announced Rs 51,000 for the community centre. He said the community believed in the betterment of the entire globe. Lakshman Chowk MLA Dinesh Agarwal said the community had always followed the path of charity shown by Bhamashah. He said he was hopeful that the community would contribute towards construction of the community hall in a big way. Trust president Pradhan Virendra Prakash Gupta and vice-president Ravindra Nath Mangalik also addressed the gathering. Udhyog Mitra vice-president Anil Goyal, Jadi Bhuti Vikas Parishad vice-president Dr Aditya Kumar, Awaas Vikas Committee president Naresh Bansal, SC/ST Commission vice-president Suresh Rathore, BJP treasurer Vinay Goyal and convener Sohan Lal Gupta were present on
the occasion. |
|
|
Training institute for medical, engg aspirants opened
Dehradun, May 23 The institute will provide preparatory classes to the students planning to appear in the entrance test of medical and engineering with their two-year integrated and weekend programmes. Jitendra Mohan Sharma (Semwal) said, “Our institution aims at contributing in the educational development by guiding the deserving and meritorious students”. |
|
|
Alva mourns death of air crash victims
Dehradun, May 23 Alva expressed her deep sense of sorrow and sympathy for the deceased and their grieving families. "May God grant strength to their families to bear the irreparable loss" is
her prayer. |
|
|
Encroachments hit rly projects in Kumaon
Nainital, May 23 According to Divisional Railways Manager, Izzatnagar Division, KB Nanda, almost 1.04 lakh square metres of land belonging to the Indian Railways is presently under encroachment in the zone between Kathgodam and Lal Kuan which needs to be restored to its owners. A large number of unauthorised, illegal settlements have come up on this land. According to Railways officials, the Uttarahand High Court had previously given a ruling in favour of the removal of encroachments, but the occupants got a stay from the Supreme Court which in its order said, “The encroachments are to be removed by following the due procedure”. “The due procedure is not an easy thing to do. The occupants will not allow personnel of the Railways to go to their respective illegal colonies without the police protection to measure the extent of the encroachment so that due notice can be served to them and they can be evicted. They will instead thwart any such attempt by even using force. It is a matter of political will,” said Nanda. During the recent inspections of the Haldwani, Kathgodam and Lal Kuan junction, besides other land belonging to the Railways, Division officers have been dismayed at finding the large-scale encroachments and called for their removal at the earliest. The officials have expressed surprise at the move of the administration to build roads to the illegal colonies that have come up on the Railways land. The officials have been underlining that it is not possible to remove these encroachments without the help of the state government. Areas such as Hathikhana, Nagina and Bengali colonies have primarily come up on the land belonging to
the Railways. Nanda told The Tribune, “I had previously written to the Kumaon Commissioner seeking his help in the matter. With a new Commissioner taking over, I would once again approach his office”. He said the Railways planned tot up a multi-facility centre at Haldwani, which was not becoming a reality because of paucity of land available. “Haldwani is the nerve centre. We want to set up a state-of-the-art centre with all facilities. But this can only become a reality once the encroachments are removed. At present we are sandwiched between Gaula river on one side and Nainital highway on the other,” said the Divisional Railways Manager. |
|
Four killed in road accidents
Dehradun, May 23 According to police officials, Beena Devi (55), a resident of Rishikesh, who was travelling in a bus, put her head out of the window of the bus which hit a boulder near Nandprayag. She died on the spot. In another accident, a jeep, in which Gujarati pilgrims were returning from the Gangotri Dham, overturned and fell into a khud near Chamba in Tehri Garhwal district. Three of them belonging to Rajkot town of Gujarat were killed, while five others were injured. They were admitted to a hospital at Chamba. |
|
Having failed in exam again, boy kills himself
Nainital, May 23 The incident took place in Haldwani on Friday. According to information, Manoj Bisht had left his house in Hydel Colony early in the morning to attend his computer classes. He had planned to meet his friends at a private shopping complex, where he intended to celebrate his passing the examinations. When the friends reached the meeting place they were surprised to find that he had already left. It is being assumed that he had come to know about his inability to clear the examinations. It was after 3 pm that some villagers came across a youth lying near the canal close to Jeevan Dan Hospital. The youth was in a state of gross discomfort and struggling for life. On turning his body, the villagers could smell the odour of sulfas. On searching his bag they came across sulfas tablets and a bottle of
cold drink. The villagers rushed him to Sushila Tewari Hospital and then called on a number from his mobile. The number was that of a relative residing in Delhi who further informed the boy’s family about the incident. The boy died close to midnight. |
|
Mumbai police arrests one for making threat calls
Nainital, May 23 The arrested man has been identified as Puran Singh, a resident of Bisalkot near Ranikhet, is a truck driver. He is learnt to have made threat calls between May 9 and 12 to priest Baruch More of a church at Nariman Point in Mumbai. The accused was nabbed with the help of mobile surveillance. He has reportedly told the police that he had dialled the priest’s number by mistake. He has been taken to Mumbai on a transit remand. |
|
PPP initiative for poor heart patients fails
Dehradun, May 23 It is believed that Almora-based Dina Hospital/Jan Jagran Samiti, with which the government had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), has already sold off the hospital to Fortis Hospital, New Delhi, leaving the Health Department high and dry. The government had signed an MoU with the Jan Jagran Samiti, Dina Hospital, in September last year on a public private partnership (PPP) mode not only to upgrade the hospital with a cardiac unit, but also organise camps in all district hospitals of the state by a team of doctors from the NHI with which Dina Hospital was conducting camps in Almora. It is believed that exasperated with the functioning of the government that was slow in moving files, Dina Hospital/Jan Jagran Samiti struck a deal with Fortis Hospital that has brought in the desired moolah. After conducting five-six camps, for the past two three-four no camps were
being conducted. According to sources, 48 heart patients were given treatments and the government has already paid for
34 treatments. Besides, the government is yet to clear a file pertaining to training of doctors who were to learn advance cardiac surgeries at NIH as per the agreement. The delay, too, is said to have forced the NGO to scout for fresh parties. As per the MoU, surgeries on patients are to be conducted in New Delhi in the initial first year, by the second and third years the base hospital doctors sufficiently trained were to carry operations independently. The training was to take place at NHI, New Delhi. So far, no doctor has been sent for the training. The state government was to pay Rs 1 lakh as token amount yearly to Dina hospital/Jan Jagran Samiti for conducting camps and also pay for the surgeries (Rs 1.5 lakh) conducted on patients. The memorandum of understanding was signed during the tenure of then Principal Secretary (Health) Dr Keshav Desi Raju. According to sources, the Health Department too is taking things in its stride, as the agreement was leaving lot of room for the private entity to manipulate procedures, when it was actually conducting a minor surgery and coolly pocket Rs 1.5 lakh. |
|
Yoga camp concludes
Dehradun, May 23 The camp was specially conducted for women. Around 80 women had attended the camp and learnt various asanas for diseases such as thyroid, cervical, migraine, backache, knee pain and others to stay healthy. Raturi said in this fast-paced life, stress was piling various diseases on a large number of people. Wrong eating habits, unplanned diets and non-regularised daily routines are the main causes that cause tensions in every one’s life. More and more people should attend health programmes to maintain a healthy life. With a motive to spread awareness regarding the benefits of yoga and help people to get rid of body pains and other diseases, Raturi taught makarasan, bhramri, singhasan, bhujangasan etc. Also present at the camp were Shailja Nijon, Sunaina (Rosy) Mishra, Poonam Sharma, Usha Chawla, Preeti Arora, Kussum Anand, Annu, Gurpreet Jaggi, Uma Devi, Lakmi Rawat, Neetu Suri, Shivani and others. |
|
Sensationalism puts scientific news in wrong perspective: science writers
Dehradun, May 23 Addressing the gathering, Dr Dhirendra Sharma, patron of the association, said sensationalism at times changed and put scientific news in the wrong perspective. He said those engaged in scientific report writing needed to verify facts. He said a forum like the Uttarakhand Chapter of Indian Science Writers Association could play an important role in bridging communication gaps between scientists and science beat journalists. Dr Devendra Bhasin, president of the association, said the association after meeting a number of mediapersons was now trying to meet heads of various Central government scientific institutions, thus facilitating the popularisation of science. Eminent literary personalities Leladhar Jagudi and Veenapani Joshi also took part in the deliberations. Some of the speakers also called for constituting a consortium of scientists for better communication network between scientists and journalists. Media scientists Dr Azmi, Dr BN Tiwari and Dr P Negi also put up the scientists’ point of view particularly in
reference to problems confronted by them vis-à-vis news reporting. Scores of mediapersons, literary personalities and scientists took part in the interactions. |
|
Dietician shares secrets of Kareena-like body
Dehradun, May 23 Rujuta Diwekar, a celebrity dietician who regularly advises film stars in Mumbai, said the secret of a sustained weight loss regime was eating sensibly in small proportions and keeping oneself confined to achievable targets. “The more urbane we are, the less nutritional worthy our diets will be, because we tend to go for short-term solutions. So a good wholesome thali has been replaced by instant coffee and instant noodles, making us nutritionally poor,” emphasised Rujuta. A keen mountaineer, Rujuta was here in Doon over the weekend taking in the many facets of the Uttarakhand state and showed interest in the local cereals, that are supposed to be nutritionally sound. People usually turn to her, after going through periods of failed diets, trying out everything with little success. “I suggest a holistic design plan, implementing on a day-to-day basis without starving. While eating one should only focus on food and not take up other activities like watching television or checking e-mails,” she said. In fact, the best brand ambassador of her diet plan is Kareena Kapoor, who managed to achieve the perfect body without resorting to crash diets or miracle diets. “She is a hard-working individual and contrary to media speculation about her weight loss, it has been achieved through bringing changes in both food and lifestyle. I came in touch with Kareena during the making of ‘Tashan’ helping her stick to a diet plan that would allow her to take the stress and strife of busy shooting schedules,” added Rujuta. She said too much craving for sweets or salt is a signal enough to check one’s nutritional intake. “Craving for sweets usually takes place, if there is some deficiency in the body and underlying causes should be addressed first and foremost,” said Rujuta. A post-graduate in Sports Science and Nutrition from the SNDT University, Mumbai, Rujuta has also authored a book, “Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight”, a best seller. A great believer in the outdoors and its benefits, Rujuta said children should be encouraged to take up outdoor activities, when they are still young. “If parents encourage children to take part in sports and other activities, the habit will continue right up to their adulthood,” said Rujuta. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Classified | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Statehood agitators are perturbed with the decision of the state government of not considering those statehood agitators who did not go to jail during the agitation, for employment.
Haridwar, May 23
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank laid the foundation stone for the construction of a community centre at the Aggarwal Charitable Trust on the Haridwar Road here today. The Chief Minister also announced Rs 25 lakh for the
centre. Dr Nishank recalled the contribution of the Aggarwal community in the service of the society. He said there were communities which had made a mark in life by helping out people. He called upon the community to play an active role in development of the state.
