Dehradun, August 2
District Magistrate (DM) D Santhiyal Pandiyan, at an all-department meeting held this evening, announced the release of Rs 9 crore to carry out the damage control exercises by the respective departments in the entire district in the aftermath of disastrous rains.

l The department concerned has been told to make the Maldevta-Mussoorie road motorable for light conveyance within a week l The DM has asked the officials concerned to convene a meeting of consultants, who had prepared a drainage master plan of the city, and the MDDA and the Flood Control Department within 15 days and directed them to pay the consultants the pending payment of Rs 60 lakh on account of the detailed project report.

The meeting was attended by officials of the Public Works Department (PWD), Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority, Dehradun Municipal Corpoation, Hydel, Rural Engineering Services, Jal Nigam and Jal Sansthan, Agriculture Department, Education Department, Irrigation Department, Flood Control Wing of the Disaster Management Department, Sub Divisional Magistrates and Additional District Magistrates.

The assessment of damage to government property and the decision to release the fund accordingly was taken. A sum of Rs 6 crore has been sanctioned to the PWD, Rs 34 lakh to the water works to repair water pipes, Rs 90 lakh to Hydel Department to repair the damaged electric wires and transformers, Rs 50 lakh to the Education Department to repair damaged schools, Rs 25 lakh to the DMC to work on broken embankments, drains and silt clearing and the the remaining amount is given to the rest of the departments.

The DM has asked the officials to start the work immediately and if needed, more money would be given as per the second estimate.

The PWD had also been directed the department concerned to make the Maldevta-Mussoorie road motorable for the light conveyance within a week, and then work on it subsequently for heavier vehicles. For this road Rs 18 lakh had been sanctioned.

The Revenue and Agriculture Department had been asked to submit report on those crops which had been affected more than 50 per cent in the rain. The Rural Engineering Service has been made the nodal agency to handle the disaster management in this respect.

The DMC has been directed to take strict action on encroachments on the drains in the city. Since loopholes in the drainage system was found to be the most important factor for escalating the catastrophe, therefore to curb this menace which might haunt the district time and again every monsoon, the DM asked the officials concerned to convene a meeting of the consultants, who had prepared a drainage master plan of the city, and the MDDA and the Flood Control Department within 15 days and directed to pay the consultants the pending payment of Rs 60 lakh on account of the detailed project report (DPR).

The Jal Nigam, which declined of having suffered any damage in the process, had been asked to provide a proof to its claim. The Jal Santhan had been directed to provide water to people through tankers where water pipes had been damaged. The Irrigation Department, which complained of clogging of a 5.5-km stretch of a river in Naya Gaon, had been asked to complete its construction work in one and half month.

The Flood Control Department had also presented an estimate of Rs 15 lakh.

The officials had been asked to remain updated with Disaster Management Act and the penalties mentioned in it. The DM asked them to submit details of damage and the plan to correct them within three days to the SDM concerned and complete the repair work within one week. He cautioned them that the state administration would not tolerate any negligence on their part, and told them that they would be provided rehearsal training to deal with such a situation in future.

Dehradun, August 2
Stuck in traffic jams on Doon roads? Don’t worry. If everything goes well you will receive a message from your mobile phone service provider about traffic condition in the city.

To get rid from increasing traffic snarls on city roads, the Dehradun traffic police has been contemplating to adopt more tech-savvy ways like sending messages on handsets and announcements about traffic on Akashwani radio station.

The police will send two proposals to the high command for the approval. “We are planning to tie up with mobile phone service providers to send messages on mobiles of the subscribers about traffic diversion due to precession and dharnas. The service will also provide information on traffic jams,” Shajahan Javad Khan, Circle Officer (Traffic) said.

The CO (Traffic) further said, “We will also tie up with Prasar Bharti which is about to come here in Dehradun. Like Delhi, through FM channels the message will be disseminated about traffic diversion and jams”.

Meanwhile, another proposal put up by the traffic police and forwarded to the administration on paying challans through banks is also facing technical problems.

Dehradun, August 2
Team iCARE as part of its one-month “Plant for the future campaign”, celebrated Van Mahotsav with students of Touchwood School on their premises here today.

The campaign is an ambitious project undertaken by iCARE, a programme wherein members of iCARE will reach out to various schools, colleges, private institutions, government offices with the objective of not only encompassing the community of the Doon valley, but also to inculcate the need for preserving the environment. The aim of the programme is to create a network of enthusiastic citizens who wish to make an effort in making the planet a better place to live.

Chairman of the Aagaas Federation JP Maithani stated that they had decided to partner iCARE since this was Dehradun’s first youth-based proactive conservation organisation working for a sustainable future.

Students and staff of the school, along with members of iCARE and Aagaas Federation, planted trees like gudhal, chandni, jatropa chandni, kachnar, gulmohur etc. Towards the end of the plantation drive many saplings were donated to staff and workers of the school as part of its ambitious project of reducing the levels of carbon footprint in the valley. Principal of Touchwood School Meenakshi Saxena said, “Youth activism is the need of the hour and praised the members of the organisation for the impeccable work being done by them towards preserving our environment. We will definitely love to be involved in any future events that the organisation decides to conduct and we hereby wish them all the very best for their future endeavours”.

Founding member of iCARE Yudhishter Puran Singh said, “It gives us a great pleasure to see the sincerity with which the students are keen towards working collectively for a beautiful tomorrow and that is honestly what drives us all at iCARE to continuously give it our best irrespective of our tight schedules”.

Aanchal Tamta of Touchwood School said, “The entire event was planned out in a very thoughtful manner and me and my friends really enjoyed being a part of this programme and we look forward working with iCARE in their upcoming projects which include conservation drive in rural villages.

PR Head, iCARE, Pooja Bhatt said, “The Green Baton will soon be travelling to Beverly Hills and Sai Grace Academy International in the next phase. We are in talks with their respective managements and very soon the dates are going to be made available on our website”.

Dehradun, August 2
The death of 27 Kanwariyas on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri highway in Uttarakhand yesterday has not come as a surprise to many.

This road is full of Kanwariyas during this time of the year because of the devotees’ inclination to reach the Gangotri-Gaumukh region during the holy month of Shravan to fetch Ganga water and their number over the years has grown manifold.

The incident at Dabrani was a result of the Kanwariya truck rolling down a gorge. The victims aged between 10 to 30 years and were from Haryana.

The incident has yet again exposed the failure of the Uttarakhand administration in checking the risky behaviour among pilgrims.

A few days ago, a Kanwariya was swept away by the rain as he tried to get to Gaumukh despite the forest authorities’ appeal to desist from such a misadventure.

The crux of the problem has always been the ferrying of pilgrims in vehicles like trucks. There have earlier been cases when Sikh pilgrims, on way to Hemkund Sahib, have died when the trucks carrying them were washed away during landslides.

The Lambagad incident is still fresh in public memory when a truck carrying Sikhs was thrown into the swollen river by debris in Chamoli district.

Trucks full of Kanwariyas are a common sight during this time of the year. Often, these trucks are overloaded and fitted with blaring horns. Kanwariyas have scant respect for traffic rules and authorities too find it best to ignore them year after year.

The pilgrims travel by night on hill roads in these trucks, most of which don’t appear to be technical sound putting their lives at great risk.

The Uttarakhand government had some time back appealed to other states, particularly Punjab and Haryana, to take measures to check this risky ferrying of pilgrims, but to no avail.

In the Dabrani incident too, the truck, packed with Kanwariyas, was on the move during the night.

Citing ecological reasons, the Uttarakhand forest authorities have, for some years now, restricted the number of pilgrims reaching Gaumukh, but nothing has been done to check the crowds that reach Gangotri, the last township on the way to Gaumukh.

Gangotri National Park Director Inder Pal Singh argues that while there are restrictions on number of pilgrims, including Kanwariyas, reaching Gaumukh, there are no such limitations in case of Gangotri.

The Uttarakhand police authorities can do little due to religious sentiments linked to the issue, but the police, in recent times, has tried to deal with them a little more strictly.

Arun Mohan Joshi, Superintendent of Police, Uttarkashi, said the state Police Department has been recommending the cancellation of permits of these trucks. “We are noting down the registration numbers of these trucks and asking the states to which these trucks belong to cancel their permits,” Joshi said.

Mussoorie, August 2
Postgraduate students today gheraoed Principal RS Shukla at his office and protested against the unlawful imposition of Rs 100 fine from each student belonging to the SC/ST/OBC category today. The student leaders raised slogans against the Principal and demanded revokation of the fine imposed on the students from the reserved category.

Student leader Nitin Dutt said the students belonging to the SC/ST/OBC category received a scholarship grant amounting to Rs 2,000 on an annual basis from the Social Welfare Department. He said the Principal was blackmailing the students and collecting Rs 100 as fine in lieu of scholarship cheque meant for the students from the reserve category.

On the other hand the Principal said nothing illegal was being done. The students were being fined only Rs 10 on a monthly basis due to the non-compliance of the 75 per cent attendance guidelines adopted by the Welfare Department, in which it was clearly stated that the scholarship amount would only be given to the students who had 75 per cent attendance in the college.

The students themselves had submitted affidavit in this regard pledging 75 per cent attendance, added the Principal.

The amount being collected was to persuade students to attend the classes as they had made it a regular feature of not attending the college and arriving only for the scholarship grant.

The penalty of Rs 100 would go in the library fund, he added.

NSUI president Wasim Khan refuted the claims made by the Principal and said the Principal had no right to impose penalty on the students and if they had less attendance, why were they allowed to sit in the examination and their scholarship forms sent to the Social Welfare Department?

The students leaders demanded that the penalty imposed on them be revoked or else a massive movement would be started against the college administration soon.

The college administration has provided an issue to the student leaders preparing for the forthcoming elections. However, sources reveal that most of the admissions are initiated by the student leaders for the purpose of vote brought from nearby villages, who come to college only on the day of the election and were not be seen after that. Hence, only a few students are seen attending the college. The situation has also arisen due to the lack of clear-cut guidelines on attendance issue by the university and the administration.

Dehradun, August 2
Government doctors owing allegiance to the Provincial Medical and Health Services (PMHS), Uttarakhand, wore black bands protesting against the government decision to appoint an IAS officer as Director (Administration).

Though performing their duties, the doctors working at Deen Dayal Upadhayay Coronation Hospital, District Women’s Hospital and District Doon Hospital, Dehradun, participated in the token protest.

“We demand the reversal of the decision and may be forced to launch an agitation if no action is taken. Our final action will depend on the meeting tomorrow that we will hold with Dr Uma Kant Panwar, Secretary (Health),” said Dr DP Joshi, General Secretary, PMHS. Dr Joshi said the move was aimed to undermine the role of the Director General (Health), who is from a medical cadre.

“Several Directors and the present Director General will retire after six months. They have so far not done DPC of doctors, who can fill these posts and may then go on to appoint IAS officers for those posts as well,” said Joshi.

Meanwhile, the Nurses Service Association also extended support to the doctors’ demand. 

Dehradun, August 2
The SGRR Race Course and the SGRR Vasant Vihar registered one-sided wins on the inaugural day of the SGRR Sahodaya Complex Sub-Junior Football Tournament held at the Race Course here.

Bhanu scored early two goals in the 4-0 win of SGRR Basant Vihar over SGRR Nehru Gram. He struck in the 10th and 15th minute to mount pressure on the opponent side. Later in the match Suraj (25th) and Dhanjay (59th) scored a goal each to help their side to post dominating triumph.

In another match, the SGRR Race Course blanked SGRR Shastradhara 3-0. Rohit (14th) Arvind (10th) and Shubham (25th) netted a goal each for ensuring the win of Race Course. However, the rival team failed to score even a single goal.

Mussoorie, August 2
St Georges College C team romped home with thumping win, completely decimating Nav Shakti Club by 12 goals. Navshakti could not score even one goal in reply at the 39th Jackie Invitational Soccer Tournament today.

In other fixtures Mussoorie Modern School Vs Aryan ended in a goalless draw. The Doon Grammar School defeated Kyarkuli Club 3-0 and Bhatta Sports Club defeated Selaqui International School 3-0.

Jackie memorial is one of the prestigious soccer tournament in Mussoorie in which more than 30 teams are participating from all over the district.