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12 villages get ready to catch the tourists’ eye
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Mussoorie roads in bad shape; Palika, PWD blame the rain
A landslide near Mussoorie after the recent rain. A Tribune photograph
Cong men meet Guv
Showers continue in Kumaon
Student union poll: Election fever grips MPG College
Candidates campaign during the student council elections in SGRR College, Dehradun, on Monday. A Tribune photograph
DTH Cos start paying pending taxes
Carman Premnagar are overall swimming champs
The Carman School Premnagar team with their trophy after winning the 9th Council Inter-School Boys Swimming Championship in Premnagar on Monday.
Carman Dalanwala defeat Aryan School 2-1
Gentlemen cadets of the special course salute the national flag at the passing-out ceremony at the IMA in Dehradun on Monday.
Implement Lyngdoh panel rules, VC tells principals
Khanduri congratulates players for winning national awards
Welham (Red), MKP College in hockey semis
Girls in action at the Dhyan Chand Hockey Tournament in Dehradun on Monday.
A Tribune photograph
Sports college win title 4-0
DAV College: SFI selects candidates
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12 villages get ready to catch the tourists’ eye
Dehradun, August 30 The aim is to create a community-managed rural tourism model by strengthening livelihood of local communities, preservation and development of local heritage and villages, and, of course, provide employment to local youth. The plan, which started in 2001, continued to include villages till 2007. The total estimated value of the scheme stands at Rs 730.61 lakh, of which Rs 606.70 lakh has been released by Centre. The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) and NGOs have been provided Rs 601.71 lakh to handle these projects. These have spent Rs 554.37 lakh till date. These 12 villages are Kasar Devi and Jageshvar in Almora district, Koti-Indroli-Patyur in Jaunsar, Hab Motad in Uttarkashi, Hab Agoda in Dodital, Chaikunibora in Champavat, Mana in Chamoli, Sari and Devriyatal in Rudraprayag, Nanakmatta in Udham Singh Nagar, Padampuri in Nainital, Gram Adi Kailash in Nainital, Triyugi Narayan in Rudraprayag. Of these, the project work in five villages is complete. These are Kasar Devi, Jageshvar, Nanakmatta, Padampuri and Adi Kailash. Even in Jageshvar, the progress report indicates the work to be 100 per cent complete with all training programmes having been provided by the chosen NGOs to the villagers. Only the completion certificates have to be cleared by the Regional Tourism Officer of Almora before sending it to the Central government. In Chaikunibora, the progress reports indicate zero per cent progress reasoning that the progress report has not been submitted by the Drishtikon organisation. The state government will hold a meeting with it in this regard. Another village which also shows zero per cent progress is Sari-Devriyatal. The reason being given was that the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board was yet to release the first instalment of the funds that is to the tune of Rs 6.60 lakh to Samar Foundation. In the rest of the villages, progress is from 50 to 80 per cent. AK Singh, Deputy Director, UTDB, said that these villages had been selected on the basis of their scenic beauty, scope for trekking, mountaineering or sites of heritage importance, art, craft and culture. The NGOs and the UTDB provide training to these villagers and are overseeing the work of developing the infrastructure in which many other agencies such as administration, PWD and others are involved. AK Singh informed that under this plan, a new interpretation centre providing a common platform to artisans to sell their products would be prepared. Refurbishment of monuments or buildings of heritage importance in the state, landscaping development, illumination of villages, facilitation of a tourism centre and places of interest, development of accommodation, creation for a centre for craftsmen to display their products and skills, supporting artisans with various marketing and technical inputs, awareness-building among the natives, homely and congenial atmosphere for tourists to enjoy local flavours, organising fairs of international standards, exhibitions, workshops, concept of home stays with food, clean water and toilets would be the many facets of the plan. A special monitoring cell or steering committee is to be floated soon to evaluate the progress and keep an eye on the deadlines for the projects.
Steps To spruce hamlets up
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Mussoorie roads in bad shape; Palika, PWD blame the rain
Mussoorie, August 30 The residents of the town have also alleged that the sub-standard material has been used in the bitumen roads constructed by the Nagar Palika and the PWD separately. The condition of the Nagar Palika roads can be gauzed by the fact that several potholes have emerged at important junctions and the sleets are strewn on the roads endangering life of the commuters. The PWD roads are also not in good shape and have given way from several places on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway. Officials from the two departments, however, are of the view that the potholes and the damaged roads were due to the incessant rain this year, but the sub-standard material used by contractors can be witnessed on the Mussoorie-Dheradun roads, where one stretch of several meters is in good shape and other on the same road is on its last legs, raising doubts on the material used. The potholes on those roads have also become bane for the commuters as the chances of accidents have increased further more. The road from the Library to the Lal Bhadur Shastri Academy of Administration has also fallen into pieces from several places. The entrance road to Mussoorie at Kingcraig has also run down and the potholes are presenting ugly picture unbecoming to the prestige of the Queen of Hills. The Landour residents are also up against the Palika Mussoorie as they had supported OP Uniyal for the post of Palika president of the board on the condition of re-laying the road, but the condition has not improved for the past two. The PWD, which has the Mussoorie-Dehradun Mall Road, Camels Back Road, Harnam Singh Road, etc. under its jurisdiction are ot paying the heed to the bad condition of the roads. On the other hand the two departments the Palika and the PWD are putting the blame on the heavy rain. According to PWD Assistant Executive AS Rana they are using good quality material for the roads and the reason for the damage of the roads from several places is excess of water. He said the bitumen road required minimum two hours to set hence it should be blocked for traffic to give time to set which did not happen leading to damage. Rana was of the view that the best roads are of concrete as these can withstand any amount of water and last long but the cost is too high, so they resort to bitumen for the construction of the roads. He also informed that the department was on the process of making a project on the damaged roads amount to Rs 5 crore and would be submitting it to the administration soon. Minister of State for Disaster Khajan Das has also sought an estimate for speedy construction and the work will begin with the allocation of the budget. Nagar Palika Executive Officer Rohtas Sharma said they had more than 100 km roads under their jurisdiction and they were also in process of submitting the project worth Rs 6 crore for the repair, maintenance and construction of the roads in town and the situation would improve soon as the projects had been approved by the administration. State Congress secretary and former Palika president Manmohan Singh Mall is of the view that the condition of the roads was appalling due to the casual approach of various departments involved in the process this year. He said rainfall in monsoon was a regular feature, but the condition of the roads was worse this year in comparison to other years. The residents of the town are of the view that if the roads were not repaired soon, they would be forced to begin a movement against the departments concerned.
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Cong men meet Guv
Dehradun, August 30 Virmani told the Governor that the victims of the natural calamities are being paid a pittance as compensation and the state government has utterly failed to provide a permanent solution to their problems. He further alleged that low-lying areas of the city are facing the problem of sanitation and there was danger of the spread of dengue and other communicable diseases. Governor Margaret Alva assured to take up the matter with the state government. The delegation comprised Vijay Chauhan, Deep Vohra, Pardeep Bhatt, Pankaj Bhatt and Jitender Taneja.
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Showers continue in Kumaon
Nainital, August 30 Udham Singh Nagar district continues to be the worst affected with several parts continuing to experience water logging. In the latest spell of rain, the area around Tanakpur was badly affected. The road from Tanakpur to the temple town of Purnagiri has been damaged and a stretch of about 50m has been washed away. This damage has resulted from the overflow of Rathigad nullah. Large tracts of agricultural land have been washed away in the area. Efforts by the administration are on to develop an alternative route to connect the two places. Meanwhile, in areas like Shakti Farm and Sitarganj that have borne the maximum fury of the recent rain, efforts are being made to channelise the seasonal streams that have caused havoc. While the level of the water has been receding, but there are problems galore for the people. The biggest problem continues to be that of housing as immediate reconstruction of damaged buildings is not feasible. A large number of people continue to be lodged in camps or on the roads. Aid is being provided to them by the administration and voluntary organisations. The administration has also got down to evaluate the losses incurred during the floods. Meanwhile, the politics over the floods has also accelerated. The legislator from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Narayan Pal, who represents the Sitarganj seat, has announced that he would undertake a padyatra and a fast in support of the demands of the people of the region. The issues pertain to the construction of embankments of the rivers, removal of silt and deepening of riverbeds. On the other hand, the President of the state unit of the Congress Yash Pal Arya has demanded that the Shakti Farm area be declared flood hit by the state government and appropriate relief be provided to the affected people. He toured the area on Sunday along with the Rudrapur legislator from his party Tilak Raj Behad who had termed the assistance being provided by the state government as grossly inadequate. Meanwhile, a large number of cases of diarrhoea have been reported from Khatima region. Most victims are children. Health authorities are going around distributing free medicines and advising people to drink boiled water and maintain cleanliness in their surroundings.
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Student union poll: Election fever grips MPG College
Mussoorie, August 30 The ABVP have taken the lead by declaring the name of Ashok Nautiyal as their presidential candidate a couple of days back. Deliberations were on for the other posts in the union body. The NSUI camp is yet to finalise their panel for the union elections. No decision could be reached till today due to many contestants for the posts. Sandeep Panwar, Rajesh Chandra, Suresh Kumar and Sanjiv Kandari are in the race for the post of the president. According to former NSUI college president Narendar Panwar the consultation were on and only strong candidates with winning prospects will be considered. The left supported All India Student Federation (AISF) is still in quandary after dismal performance in past whether to field a candidate or not. Another newly formed group called Aryan is also gaining popularity among the students as names of Rakesh Negi and Arjun Chandola are
being discussed for presidential candidate. The students are expecting triangular contest this year. The supporters of the various candidates have begun the exercise to woo the 12,00 voters by canvassing door to door. The college which is famous for its low attendance is witnessing the election buzz as various organisations are busy explaining their ideology and commitment towards the student force. The Lingdoh Committee recommendations are also being flouted in the process as posters, banners and hoardings are defacing the campus to extreme extent. According to the Election Officer Shri Ram Gupta September 9 has been decided as the date for college election this year. He further said the election process will be completed before September 15 according to the recommendations of Lyngdoh Committee. Gupta speaking on the hoardings placed at the college premises said they will be removed after the announcement of the election date. However, supporters have begun door-to-door canvassing for the elections from today. The nomination forms will be available from September 3 between 1.30 pm to 4.00 pm. The announcement of the forms will be made after scrutiny on September 4 and contestants can take back their names on September 6 and the final list will be announced the same day at 12.00 pm. The results of the election will be declare the same day of polling. The elected members will be administered oath on September 16. Gupta said the necessary arrangements have been made for conducting the elections peacefully. The students however are not too keen on the elections. BA first year student in the college is of the view that she is averse to the politics considering the present scenario and involvement of the political parties has tarnished the image of the students union to some extent. A BSc third year student Sandeep was of the view that the college election is nothing but farce as no positive development takes place in terms of increasing the books in library other much required and most of the unions after elections are more interested in college functions instead of fighting for the genuine rights of the students.
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DTH Cos start paying pending taxes
Dehradun, August 30 The three companies, Airtel, Tata Sky and Videocon, have not been paying the tax since January this year. They had even approached the high court seeking relief but lost the case recently. The companies have submitted that it’s only Central government and not the state government who can impose tax on them. Talking to The Tribune, SC Saxena, Dehradun Entertainment Tax Officer, said, “The companies have been given two-days time to pay their taxes. They have sent us the copies of demand draft and have asked a day more as they are unable to reach here due to incessant rains”. On being asked whether the services would be discontinued till then, he said, “It would be decided by tomorrow evening only”. “The companies are charged Rs 25 for domestic service and Rs 50 for providing commercial service,” Saxena confirmed. Earlier, The Tribune had published on August 10 that the Entertainment Department would soon be able to collect the tax from the private service providers like Tata Sky, Airtel and Videocon as it had won the case.
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Carman Premnagar are overall swimming champs
Dehradun, August 30 While in the individual category, Shoorbir Singh Negi of the host team was declared the best swimmer. Arun Kumar, Bursar, Carman School gave away the winning trophy and the prizes to the winners. The participating teams contested in different 11 events, including 50m butterfly (senior), 25m breast stroke (junior), 100m freestyle (senior), 25m freestyle (junior), 50m breast stroke (senior), 4x25m freestyle relay (sub junior) and others.
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Carman Dalanwala defeat Aryan School 2-1
Dehradun, August 30 Prateek Negi (15th) opened the account of the winning team while Tenzin of Ayan School retaliated in the 28th minute as the first half ended on one each. But in the second half, Ridayh Ramola starred scoring in the 52nd minute to end the match on 2-1 in Carman School's favour. In another closely contested match, Carman School, Premnagar beat Guru Nanank Academy 1-0. Siddhant netted the golden goal in the 40th minute to make his side register a narrow win. In the third match, Col Brown School easily defeated Hilton School. This was Zia Ahmad Kazi of Col Brown (15th, 30th and 35th) who scored all three goals in the first half to shock the rival team. The Presidency International School also posted one-sided 4-0 win over GRD Niranjanpur in the last match of the day. Anurag (10th), Nitin (second, 28th) and Dikshan netted goals in the favour of Presidency School.
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26 IMA cadets commissioned
Dehradun, August 30 The ceremony was presided over by Lt Gen RS Sujlana, Commandant, IMA. The course trains selected personnel from the ranks in the Indian armed forces found suitable to be given commission in the Indian Army. Lt Gen Sujlana, Commandant, IMA, said, “I appreciate your consistent efforts to reach this goal. It is indeed a praiseworthy and distinguished achievement. You need to continue with the same zeal during your service as an officer”. He further said, “As a commissioned officer, there will be great stress on qualities of leadership, moral, physical courage, discipline, loyalty and integrity towards the nation. These can be achieved only by persistent hard work, ability and dedication”. The Commandant also congratulated the families of the newly commissioned officers. The gold medal for standing first in the order of merit was awarded to gentleman cadet Kanchan Sikdar of the Dogra Regiment. The gentlemen cadets-turned-officers, could be seen full of pride and enthusiasm as they look forward to serving as officers in the Indian Army.
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Implement Lyngdoh panel rules, VC tells principals
Dehradun, August 30 According to officials, SK Singh directed the principals to ensure the implementation of the guidelines set up by the Lyngdoh Committee for the students union election in the college. The age limit of the contesting candidates was decided as 22 years in the meeting. The elected university representatives of various affiliated colleges will take part in the university apex body election for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary, general secretary and treasurer. Moreover, the department has also announced the increase in the forwarding fees of private application forms from Rs 55 to Rs 100. The back papers of the session 2009-10 will be decided from September 13 to 20.
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Khanduri congratulates players for winning national awards
Dehradun, August 30 According to a press statement released today, chess player Parimarjan Negi who got Arjuna award and Chanderprabha Aitval and Kamlesh Bointhial who were given away Tenzing Norge National Adventure award for adventure sports were given congratulations by
Khanduri. The former CM said Negi has earned name in the world at this tender age. Praising head constable Kamlesh and
Chanderprabha, he added that even with little resources they achieved the feat and made the state proud.
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Welham (Red), MKP College in hockey semis
Dehradun, August 30 Mamta scored very early in the first minute of the game. She struck her next goal in the 23rd minute to down
Welham School. The latter team failed to score ahead of the solid defence of the MKP
College. In another girls' quarterfinal, Welham Girls' School (Red) blanked St Agnes School, Chukhuwala 5-0. Radhika starred scoring three goals-second, 16th and 30th. Alisha (eighth and 20th) also netted two goals. Welham (Red) and MKP College are scheduled to meet in junior girls semifinal tomorrow.
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Sports college win title 4-0
Dehradun, August
30 Deepak (sixth), Sohail Khan (ninth), Ankit (37th) and Ajay (38th) netted a goal each in the final win of the MPSC. Rival GNC couldn't score even a single goal throughout the match and suffered a humiliated defeat. Olympian Hardyal Singh who was the chief guest on the occassion, gave away prizes to the teams and the players. Singh shared his old memories with the players. He gave tips to the players and guided them to do well in hockey.
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DAV College: SFI selects candidates
Dehradun, August 30 Election conducting body was also formed in a meeting in which Rajvir Singh, state treasurer of the SFI, was declared convener of the party.
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Mussoorie, August 30
Dehradun, August 30
Striking two goals, Mamta Bhatt scripted the win of MKP College over Welham Girls School (Blue) in the junior girls quarterfinal at the ongoing Dhyan Chand Hockey Tournament held at
Welham Girls School, here today.
