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Now, rain targets Mussoorie
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Repair roads within 45 days, DM tells officials
Removal of Encroachments on Drains
Haldwani college to have data research centre
4 jr doctors suspended for unruly behaviour
Pauri district tops in 20-Point Development Programme list
Govt to fund Bagwal fair at Champawat
Lawyers threaten to intensify stir
Chopper service sought for hurt Mansarovar Yatra pilgrim
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Now, rain targets Mussoorie
Mussoorie, August 3 Anjali Sharma, a resident of Dak Lane, said her family was about to go to sleep when the debris, making a loud noise behind her house, started entering the premises at great speed. The Sharmas had to scurry to safety. Their neighbours had to pick up and move Rajendar Sharma, Anjali’s husband, as he is paralysed below the waist. Had they gone to sleep, they would have been buried under the debris, Anjali said. Anjali added that the mudslide occurred due to the callousness of the Landour Cantonment Board. Debris from illegal constructions being carried out in the area was being dumped just above her house for the past few months. No action had been initiated even after repeated reminders to the board office. Landour Cantonment Office Superintendent CB Lakhera said that notices had been served to the perpetrators of illegal constructions. After assessing the damage in the Cantt board due to the natural disaster, action would be initiated soon, he said. He has informed senior officials about the incident. According to Rajesh Kanaujia, member of ward No. 5 at the Landour Cantt Board, the Dehradun-Woodstock-Dhanaulti Road has been blocked due to mudslide. He said that he had written a letter to the concerned authorities to provide relief to the victims. Elsewhere, the road from Butcher
Khana to Khatta Pani collapsed due to the incessant rain. Palika ward member Sushil Agarwal alleged that the incident was the result of the callous approach of the Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam (Doon division) as they had installed a sewage pipeline under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) project and left the work incomplete. This opened up the road to damage by overnight rain. HC Pant, Executive Engineer, Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam (Doon division), said that the department had completed its work. The concrete work was to be done by the Palika for much they had disbursed the allocated funds two months back, he said. He added that he had sent two junior engineers to assess the damage and now the Nigam would complete the work itself instead of relying on the Palika Parishad
in Mussoorie. The blame game has begun and no department is ready to take responsibility of the substandard work that has been done in the area despite ample funds being provided by the UPA government under JNNURM. Meanwhile, a mudslide also occurred at Jharipani-Chuna Khala Road endangering the house of Sanjay Bahari who runs a resort in his premises. Bahari said that the situation arose due to blockage in the nearby nullah. As a result, the water was forced to change its course and on its way, damaged the house’s sidewalls. Matadin, Nayab Tehsildar, Mussoorie, inspected the sites and has sent the report to the administration. According to environmental experts, rampant and illegal constructions are the main reason for recurring landslides in the town. Incidents like these could be averted only when soil testing is enforced properly by concerned departments in Mussoorie.
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Harish Rawat visits affected areas
Dehradun, August 3 Rawat visited Mehuwala, Brahmanwala, Morowala, Nakronda
and other affected areas. He was accompanied by the District Development Officer, officials of the Jal Sansthan, Irrigation Department and other departments. He asked them to devise a long-term strategy to deal with such situations. The minister also spoke to the District Magistrate, Sub-Area Commander of the Cantt, Mukhya Nagar Adhikari and Secretary, Disaster Management, on phone and instructed them to expedite the relief works. Rawat paid a visit to the houses which had got flooded during the rain and had incurred massive losses. He also noticed the broken embankment and clogged drains obstructing the draining of water and directed the tehsildar of the Department of Disaster Management to look into these problems. On this occasion, former Mayor Manorama Dobriyal, former general secretary Prithvi Pal Chauhan, city president of the Congress Harish Virmani and other Congress activists were also present.
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Repair roads within 45 days, DM tells officials
Dehradun, August 3 The DM directed all officials to submit proposals regarding the damage to government assets and public during the recent floods. He also asked them to ensure that the repair and renovation of roads was done within a period of 45 days. He
warned all officials that he would not tolerate any negligence in reporting losses. Pandiyan released Rs 33 lakh for the construction of 50-meter-long road at Maldevta as it was damaged due to a strong flow of water from the Song river. He said they would be getting Rs 15 lakh from MNREGA and Rs 18 lakh from the Disaster Management Department. The DM asked Bijendra Kumar Singh, Chief Engineer, Flood Control, and DS Panth, Chief Engineer, PWD, to make sure that the construction of bridges would be started as soon as the flow of the river slowed. He suggested to the officials to construct two strong walls to turn back the flow of the water. The DM also issued instructions to the Block Development Officer to start the construction of work under the MNREGA within 10 days. Premchand Aggrawal distributed Rs 1,000 each to people who had lost their property due to the floods. The DM directed the Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, to make sure that the repair work of the small dam would be started soon.
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Removal of Encroachments on Drains
Dehradun, August 3 They prepared an action plan to counter the aftereffects of the heavy rain which hit the city on Saturday. The issue of waterlogging in Subhash Nagar dominated the meeting. It was found that a faulty drain on the road near the ISBT was responsible for the movement of water towards Subhash Nagar. The drainage in the locality was also not up to the mark. Directions were given to all departments to construct drains as per the DPR prepared by Delhi-based consultants hired by the state administration. It was also noticed that a drain near the ISBT and the one from the ISBT to Subhash Nagar were not built as per the parameters for national highways. A team of the Jal Nigam, DMC, engineers of national highway body and drainage consultants will present a joint report on the issue on Saturday. SDM City Vinod Giri has been asked to examine the drains which had been covered for the construction of buildings. The officials were also directed not to give permission to cover the nullahs and drains. A team will be constituted tomorrow with representatives from all departments concerned who would take action against encroachments made on drains at Subhash Road, Saharanpur Road, Haridwar Road, Prince Chowk to ISBT, Ghanta Ghar, Parade Ground, Ballupur and Doon Hospital to Chander Nagar. First, the encroachers will be warned and if they don’t move, then they would forcibly be removed with penalties, the Mayor said. The team will visit these areas in the next three days. The meeting was attended by Vinod Giri, SDM, Bhupender Singh Kandari, Vice-President, Cantt Board, Harak Singh Rawat, AMNA, Harsh Vardhan Mishra, UNA, SC Pant, Executive Engineer, Drinking Water, DC Nautiyal, Executive Engineer, PWD, Devender Singh, Additional Executive Engineer, MDDA and VK Chauhan, Additional Engineer.
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Haldwani college to have data research centre
Haldwani, August 3 This is the first time that the Health Secretary has visited the college since it was taken over by the state government in April this year. Panwar said emphasis would now be laid on co-ordinating the college with the various government hospitals in the region so that these hospitals could avail the benefits from the college and people would get proper health care. He also expressed concern over the fact that although the college had the best of technology available with it, there was a shortage of manpower which needed to be addressed. He pointed out that a committee of doctors had been set up to give its recommendations for tackling the issue. The Health Secretary also underlined that efforts would be made to ensure that the requirements of the college and its hospital were met at the local level. With reference to the problems of employees related to wage anomalies, he said the matter would be sorted out within a fortnight. However, there are issues which remain to be addressed with regards to the hospital and the college. Primary among them is the issue of distribution of medicine which was promised at the time of the government taking over but the facility is yet to start. There are also issues pertaining to the ownership of land on which the institution stands. In addition to this are the issues of further expansion and a lack of infrastructure in the form of a ramp beyond the third floor and the facility of elevators.
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Preeti, Tanu are overall winners of science exhibition
Haridwar, August 3 Prior to the competitive events, the students were briefed about the evolution of science and the varied effects of science in our daily life. BEO Asha Panyuli urged students to have a scientific outlook in their life and participate in such events whenever they get an opportunity. The less turnout of the participants raised many questions, like whether it was disinterest of students or lack of efforts from the education officers to coordinate in making schools send their respective participants for the seminar. In the overall category, Preeti Kumari and Tanu Chauhan of Girls Government College bagged the first two prizes. School Principal SS Beniwal lauded the efforts put in by participants voicing for more such events at block and village levels so that the talent could be unearthed at the entry level itself which would pave the way for a scientifically developed India. The winners of this block-level seminar-cum-competition would participate at the district-level seminar scheduled to begin from August 9. Among those who coordinated the seminar were Prof SP Singh, Sushma Jagwan, Ritu Bhattacharya, Sunita Snehlata, Poonam Ahuja and others.
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BEd, BPEd teachers continue stir, stage dharna
Dehradun, August 3 In spite of no tent, bench or floor mats, the BEd-trained teachers are rigid on their demands. The protestors are on a hunger strike to press their demands on the administration. Baldev Singh Bhandari, president of the Garhwal region, Pankaj Muyal, district president, and Brij Mohan Singh Rawat, president of Uttarkashi district, are on an indefinite fast. Bhandari said, “The administration has mistreated us and even battered women protestors without women police force during the mass arrest. The police force tok away our mobile phones, mattresses, shoes, slippers, bags and other facilities yesterday, but could not suppress our antipathy”. “We have given several memorandums to
the Chief Minister, Secretary, Education, and to the state Education Minister, but except fake assurances nothing has materialised yet. In fact, the affected are facing such a financial crisis that their families
are at the state of starving,” he asserted. The BEd and BPEd trained teachers demand to open 8,000 vacancies of special BTC teachers and 5,000 for the LT teachers. Also present at the dharna were Himanshu Rajput, state vice-president, Birpal Bisht, state secretary, Himmat Rawal, treasurer, Mahendra Chauhan and others.
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ONGC adopts 50 poor girls
Dehradun, August 3 In this connection, the ONGC is making an annual contribution to the school, covering the total expenditure on account of their schooling, including boarding and lodging. This contribution will continue for
eight years. “The 50 girls adopted by the ONGC have been designated as “ONGC scholars”. Further, the ONGC has also funded the construction of a hostel block in the school.
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4 jr doctors suspended for unruly behaviour
Haldwani, August 3 Sources said on being approached by senior teachers, they went on to use abusive and unparliamentary language against the latter. This led to the college administration taking the stern action against the erring students. Those suspended have been identified as Dr Abhishek Gupta, Dr Yuvaraj Singh, Dr Gaurav Kumar and Dr Suresh. The interns facing expulsion from the hostel are Aman Saini, Rahul Aggarwal and Samir Maheshwari. The college authorities have clarified that none of these were indulging in ragging activity.
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Pauri district tops in 20-Point Development Programme list
Dehradun, August 3 “As per the data released by the department for the month of June, under the 20-point programme, Pauri has ranked in the first position, followed by Dehradun, Tehri, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag,” Statistics Officer Geetanjali Sharma said. The department had recently collected the data under the programme held by various government departments. Sharma affirmed, “The data collected from various government departments under the 20-Point Programme shows the satisfactory performance of Dehradun and it has achieved the second rank among all 13 districts of the state”. For monitoring and reviewing the development programme, the Dehradun District Magistrate has appointed a four-member task force. She further said, “We had recently conducted a verification drive and reviewed the projects under the programme at Shankarpur. More than 12 houses, which have been constructed under the Indra Awas Yojna in Chhota Rampur located areas in Shankarpur were verified”. According to the sources, all beneficiaries who fall under the Indra Awas Yojna were provided with the sanctioned amount of funds on time and all of them have constructed their house under the same programme. In Dehradun, 14 out of 27 items are in category A, three in category B, three in category C and one in category D. In Chamoli district, 10 out of 25 items are in category A, one in category B, three in category C and 11 in category D. While reviewing the programme earlier, vice-president Harbhajan Singh Cheema had directed all District Magistrates to appoint efficient task force for monitoring and reviewing the programme on a monthly basis.
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Dak Kanwars to share highways with normal traffic
Haridwar, August 3 In earlier years, national highways used to be closed for heavy vehicles and commuters and just open to Kanwariyas. A decision in this regard was taken by District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram and police chief Sanjay Gunjiyal, who have successfully implemented the special track called ‘Kanwar patri’ for on-foot
Kanwariyas thereby easing the enormous pressure on national highways as well as the city’s
interior roads. The administration is of the view that if speeding heavy Kanwar vehicles can travel on highways, then normal traffic can move simultaneously
on it as well. The emphasis is on making on-foot Kanwariyas move only on the Kanwar route. The
Kanwariyas running along the Dak Kanwar will be allowed to accompany their vehicles on the highway. Industries in SIDCUL have heaved a sigh of relief as a result of this administrative decision as in earlier years, these used to suffer huge losses because their manufactured goods and materials used to lie in the company godowns for this period. Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena has condemned the state government for forcing the Kanwariyas to tread on the Kanwar stretch saying this step was only polluting the Ganga more. Its district chief Devendra Prajapati said while Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has initiated the Sparsh Ganga campaign with Hema Malini as its brand ambassador, yet it is not concerned about the pollution of the Ganga during the Kanwar season. “It seems to be a publicity stunt by the state government and nothing else,” remarked Prajapati.
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Govt to fund Bagwal fair at Champawat
Pitthoragarh, August 3 “We have received telephonic assurance by Bina Bhatt, Director of the Department of Culture, of a grant of Rs 3 lakh pending as last year’s expenses borne by the zila panchayat on this fair besides granting of same amount for this year’s expenses as well,” said Prema Pandey, chairman of the zila panchayat. The 13-day traditional fair at Devidhura in Champawat district will start from August 20. The main attraction of the fair, the stone war, which means hurling stones by members of two groups on one another until the blood equivalent to the amount of blood in one man’s body is shed, will be organised on August 24. “For this main attraction of this fair we will depute an ambulance carrying specialist doctors besides the staff at the mela spot and all liquor shops around that place will remain closed on the day,” said Pandey. According to zila panchayat sources, the real expenditure on the arrangements of this year’s Bagwal fair at Devidhura will be more than Rs 4 lakh because the renovation of the temple complex, arrangements for lighting and sanitation at the mela spot have become costly this year. “Our zila panchayat is already incurring losses and expecting more than Rs 1 crore from the government as the compensation we had lost at the Purnagiri fair for the past two years after we were denied the use of forest land there,” said Pandey.
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SGRR Race Course beat Patel Nagar 4-0
Dehradun, August 3 In the today’s first quarterfinal, the SGRR Race Course blanked SGRR Patel Nagar 4-0 with a fine team effort. Shubham (third minute), Mohit (fifth), Rohit (15th) and Charul (45th) netted a goal each in the win. Whereas in another quarterfinal, the SGRR Talab defeated the SGRR Bombay Bagh 2-0. Gurmeet (32nd) and Vivek (49th) scored a goal each. SGRR Balawala also registered easy 3-0 win over SGRR Nehru Gram. Sumit (10th), Kanish (25th) and Saurabh (30th) fashioned the triumph of Balawala.
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Lawyers threaten to intensify stir
Dehradun, August 3 The association held a joint meeting of the Tax Bar Association, Doon Commercial Tax Bar Association and Uttarakhand Advocates Association at the bar room in the Commercial Tax Office where a joint action committee was formed. Vinay Kumar Jain was unanimously nominated as the convener of the committee. It was chalked out in the meeting that all advocates would refrain from their work and continue further if their demand went unheard. The association has insisted on not shifting the office and has received full support from the Tax Bar Associations of Roorkee, Kotdwar, Uttarkashi and others. The strike was held under president Vinay Kumar Jain. He, along with a delegation of the Tax Bar Association, met Radha Raturi, Commissioner, Tax, Uttarakhand, yesterday to oppose the decision and had also handed over a memorandum to condemn the erroneous decision. The association has demanded to back the off-beam decision immediately or else they would take harsh action on the raised issue. More than 50 advocates were present to discuss the matter that has affected about 85 per cent appellants of this area. Some of them were ID Uniyal, KN Sharma, AP Pundir and AK Jain along with Vinay Kumar Jain, president of the association.
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Chopper service sought for hurt Mansarovar Yatra pilgrim
Pitthoragarh, August 3 “Mrinalini (48) got injured seriously at Gunji when she fell off a pony while getting down from it,” Said KMVN base camp officer BR Arya. According KMVN sources, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is running smoothly. Seven batches have returned New Delhi after completing the yatra and the 8th batch has reached the Gunji camp from Tibet . The pilgrims of two batches, 9th and 10th, are in Tibet while the 11th batch has reached the Bundi camp. “Besides some trouble at Chautaldhar, where a fresh landslide swept away the newly constructed contact way, almost the entire route is in good condition and weather is also pleasant at this high altitude area,” said the base camp in charge.
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