Haridwar, November 14
On the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru today, various functions were held while children celebrated the day as Children’s Day.

With the day being a holiday, most schools had organised the programmes a day earlier while the Congress and other social organisations organised a host of other programmes throughout the district.

At Subash Ghat-situated Congress city office, a programme was held wherein floral tributes were paid to Pandit Nehru on his 121st birth anniversary. Congress leaders from across the district also paid tributes and remembered the visionary leader who put India on the path of development. Pandit Nehru was born in Allahabad in 1889.

Presiding over the function, city Congress chief OP Chauhan said despite being from a wealthy family, Nehru took the hardships to work for the poor and citizens of the country with even donating his wealth to the country, setting an example for society.

Terming Pandit Nehru as a perfect parliamentarian, former Haridwar parliamentarian Harpal Sathi said during his tenure as Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru always used to listen the views of the Opposition too.

While district Congress chief Chaudhari Rajendra Singh said the base of the today’s strong India had been laid during the tenure of Pandit Nehru. His vision is relevant even today as seen during the recent US President’s Barack Obama’s India visit wherein he accepted India’s role in world politics, be it strategically or economically.

“The Nehru-Gandhi family has a rich tradition of putting nation before self with Pandit Nehru paving the way, which was followed by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv and Congress president Sonia Gandhi who didn’t accept the post of Prime Minister despite being elected by the party for the premier post, but chose to work for the country in the capacity of Congress president,” said former UP Home Affairs Minister Ram Singh Saini.

Others who were present at the function were Tej Prakash Sahu, Lakshman Singh Pundir, Dinesh Sharma, Hardari Lal, Subash Ghai, Madukant Giri, Satyanarayan Sharma, Saroj Sahu, Beena Kapur, Ishwari Devi, Shafi Khan, Deepak Advani, Suresh Kaushik, Mira Raturi, JP Pandey, Mahant Shyam Puri, Surendra Vishwas, Rakesh Sharma, Sanjay Arora, Jagat Singh Rawat and Pushpa Joshi.

MUSSOORIE (OC): Congress workers remembered country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 120th birth anniversary at a simple ceremony held at the Congress Bhawan here today. Congress leaders said the party would follow the path shown by the great leader and fulfil his dream to build a modern and prosperous India and promote communal harmony and a scientific temper diligently. Mussoorie Congress president Bhagwan Singh Dhanai, along with other leaders like Javed Khan, BP Kukreti, Bharosi Rawat, Harbhajan Thakral and others, were present.

Mussoorie, November 14
As the nation celebrates 120 birth anniversary of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru today, very few know that he had a deep connection with Queen of Hills where the Nehru family spent time during summers. During the 1920s and 1930s, the Nehrus were frequent visitors to Mussoorie, along with their daughter Indira Gandhi.

According to local historian Gopal Bhardwaj, Pandit Nehru used to visit Mussoorie regularly. The family would stay at Radha Bhawan, Craig Top, Birla Bhawan and Savoy Hotel in the town.

Pandit Nehru’s visit to Mussoorie on May 1920, when he stayed at Savoy Hotel, created a buzz among the Englishmen as incidentally Afghan envoys who were negotiating a peace deal with the British at the time, were also staying at the hotel and the British, wary of the Nehru family’s safety, forced them to leave the hotel despite an ailing mother, wife and infant daughter along with him.

Pandit Nehru was also fond of horse riding and trotted along on several occasions while in Mussoorie. After Independence, when he became the Prime Minister of India, he addressed the Travel Agents Association of India at Savoy Hotel.

Bhardwaj has an access to rare film footage of the Nehrus’ visits to Mussoorie. In one of these he is meeting the Dalai Lama in 1959. Pandit Nehru’s meeting with exiled Dalai Lama, who was staying in Birla House, made the town a focal point as the relationship between the neutralist India and Red China deteriorated drastically. Nehru then in a strong language reproach Peking (now Beijing) on the charges that India had any hand in the Tibetan revolt. The Chinese aggression in 1962 was a fallout of this visit, presumably, added Bhardwaj.

However, Bhardwaj laments the fact that a lot of documents related to Pandit Nehru have no museum to preserve these. He has demanded that a museum in the name of the great leader should be established so that the country is able to view the works of one of the greatest statesmen of the country.

Dehradun, November 14
Facing the apathy of the state government, the historical Nehru Ward at the old Dehradun Jail, that could have been developed as a historical monument and tourism destination, continues to be in utter shambles and has become an abode for anti-social elements.

Wild growth of grass and broken glasses at the premises of the jail where free India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru spent part of his imprisonment speaks volume of how much worth does the national heritage is given here by the authorities.

Pandit Nehru penned a part of his famous book, “Discovery of India”, during his stay here. The condition of room, kitchen and bathroom of the ward, which was used by Pandit Nehru at that time of his imprisonment during 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1941 as part of the freedom movement, is a disgrace to see.

Packs of condoms and wine bottles littering the place are evident enough that the historical place has become a place for anti-social activities. The wall of bathroom of the ward has been broken to make it an open entry for all.

The ward also houses a statute of Pandit Nehru and the notice board with letters written by him to Mahatma Gandhi from the jail, which are both in a pitiable condition. Health statistics, date of his transfer from other jails, term of imprisonment and offence (124 section of the IPC) of Pandit Nehru is also put up on the notice board.

Interestingly the tree, which has found its mention in “Discovery of India”, is no more there.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders on the birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru visited the ward to pay tributes to him. But, to their dismay they found the ward locked which later had to be broken to enter inside.

The congressmen were taken aback seeing the pity state of affairs of the ward. They raised slogans against the government and asked the District Magistrate to do the needful.

“This is really disgraceful that the first Prime Minister and freedom fighter of the nation is given this kind of treatment in the state. Th same powers that are today blaming Sonia Gandhi are trying to destroy this heritage. If they (government) can not maintain the ward then it should hand it over to us,” said senior Congress leader Suryakant Dasmana.

Former Transport Minister Hira Singh Bisht, who visited the ward, said such treatment to the national heritage is a shame. He called up the DM and informed him of the pitiable condition of the ward. The DM replied it has been handed over to the Cultural Department for maintenance.

However, the Cultural Department Director denied to have received any order in this regard officially. “It has not been handed over to us yet hence we can not do anything,” said Director Veena Bhatt who rushed to the ward after knowing of the situation.

Dehradun, November 14
Members of the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party, at its first district convention, decided to start a drive for bringing a political and social change in Uttarakhand.

Party president PC Tiwari said people had been taken for a ride in the past 10 years. “Political parties have failed to live up to the expectations of people. Nor have they been able to work for the all-round development of the state, a guiding principle of the state hood agitation,” said Tiwari.

He said the party would launch a campaign to bring a political and social change in the state of Uttarakhand. “We will galvanise people of the state into rejecting the political parties and present the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party as an alternative,” he claimed.

Pitthoragarh, November 14
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank today inaugurated the eight-day Jauljivi fair at the confluence of the Kali and Gori rivers on the Indo-Nepal border, some 60 km from here.

Inaugurating the fair, the Chief Minister stressed upon the need of linking far-flung areas of the state into the mainstream using fairs and festivals by providing government assistance to it. “The traditional fair of Jauljivi has been a backbone for locals as well as traders of tribal areas of Dharchula and Munsiyari valleys of the district which needs to be protected,” said the Chief Minister.

The Jauljivi fair is also celebrated as a goodwill week between communities living at Jauljivi and those that come to trade with them from Nepal and upper Himalayan valleys as well as from mainstream Kumoan. “We need to strengthen this goodwill in the state by preserving the local culture reflected in these traditional fairs,” said Nishank.

The fair will be concluded on November 21 officially, but the actual fair will continue for more than a month.

After inaugurating the fair, the Chief Minister inspected various stalls laid by the government department depicting new technology products and instruments. Schoolchildren presented a cultural programme before the chief guest. The Chief Minister also released a souvenir on the occasion.

Nainital, November 14
Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva has expressed concern over the non implementation of police and jail reforms in the country along with the high number of pending of cases in various courts despite directions and recommendations from parliamentary committees and even the Supreme Court.

At a function held here on Saturday to celebrate a decade of the functioning of the Nainital High Court, she spoke at length on these issues stating that they need to be addressed at the earliest.

Talking about police reforms, she said that they are an intricate part of the whole justice delivery system. Alva said, “Everyday, we are witnessing distortions created by our police forces, whatever their level. From Gujarat to Maharashtra and from Kerala to Haryana, the malaise is spreading.

“Atrocities in police lock-ups, trumped-up charges and false evidence, so perfectly manipulated to suit the powerful, and fake encounters make a mockery of human rights and judicial procedures.

“We have been talking of police reforms for ages, but nothing concrete has emerged so far. The police force is overburdened, poorly trained and equipped, under paid and unresponsive to the needs of the common citizen.

“The mindset of the Raj seems to persist. To ensure transparent and speedy justice, reforms in our law-and-order machinery is a crying need.”

Another area of concern is jails, she said. “A society can be judged by the condition of its prisons, it is said. Our prisons are in bad shape. We need to address issues like over crowding, delay in trials which keep under-trials in jails for long, sometimes longer that if they were convicted, torture and ill treatment, neglect of health, sanitation and hygiene, inadequate clothing and food. Deficiency in communication, streamlining of jail visits and a shift to open prisons besides separate prisons for women and care of their children need to be looked at,” she underlined.

She suggested that India needs to adopt recommendations of the Jail Reform Committee of 1980-83. In Dharamveer vs state of UP, the Supreme Court gave the rationale for the use of the open prison system of reformation and rehabilitation of offenders.

“The Supreme Court has also given directions from time to time, in various cases, for the amelioration of prison conditions. Allocations for construction of new modern prisons from the Centre have increased, but the states have been lax in utilising them.

“I would like the High Court of Uttarakhand to implement the directions of the Supreme Court for regular visits by judges, to review cases of under-trials and women prisoners, and their bail applications, to ensure speedy justice to them. It would be good to make law students provide legal aid to prisoners as part of their course curriculum,” the Governor suggested.

Alva also spoke at length on the high number of pending cases in the courts across the country and expressed concern on the state of affairs.

“We all know that justice delayed is justice denied. Delay in disposal of cases not only creates disillusionment among litigants, but also undermines the capability of the system to mete out justice in an efficient and effective manner.

“The picture that the Indian Courts present, all over the country, is indeed alarming. As on July 2009, 53,000 cases were pending in the Supreme Court, 40 lakh cases in High Courts, and 2.7 crore cases in lower courts. You can imagine how many years litigants will have to wait for a final judgement.

“High vacancy in courts and low judges-to-population ratio are the two main reasons usually cited to explain high pendency of cases. India’s current judge-to-population ratio stands at approximately 12.5 judges per million people, compared to 104 for the United States,” she pointed.

She said that in 1987, the Law Commission noted the low Indian ratio of 10.5 judges per million population and recommended increasing it to 50 with immediate effect, and to over 100 by 2000.

This recommendation was reiterated by a Parliamentary Standing Committee in February 2002. The Supreme Court directed increase in judges’ strength to 50 per million in a phased manner. But despite all this, the number of judges has not increased, creating a burden of mounting arrears, she said.

“There have been recommendations that the working hours of judges should be increased and court holidays curtailed. To this, I would add that lawyers should make their arguments shorter and judges should refuse adjournments more often. This way, cases could be disposed faster,” she added.

Alva further pointed out that as a means of dealing with pendency in courts, other specialised courts like fast-track courts, administrative tribunals, tax tribunals and courts for economic offences have been set up, but appeals from these clog the higher judiciary.

She also suggested introduction of mobile lok adalats in Uttarakhand. “Given the tough geographical terrain of Uttarakhand, mobile lok adalats, that are presently in place in different parts of Bihar, need to be introduced, so that speedy and affordable justice could be made available to the litigants at their doorstep.

Dehradun, November 14
After following the palliative approach for cancer patients, the focus has now shifted to preventive oncology and this change is expected to increase the survival rate of cancer patients.

Expressing these views today at a workshop for the promotion of oncology and training education in India organised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr AK Dewan, Medical Director, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Institute Centre, New Delhi, said approximately 10 lakh new cancer cases were detected each year. “Once more and more screening centers are established in the country, the patients will benefit immensely,” he said.

He also said along with delay on the part of patients, even lethargic investigation by doctors could prevent cancer cases being detected in the early stages. “In 70 per cent of advanced cases, the doctors’ poor judgment too can be held responsible, and it is this tendency that needs to be avoided,” Dr Dewan stressed.

He also admitted that instead of focusing on basic research in the country, the focus was more on clinical research. “Though India has become a hub for this kind of treatment as multi-national, multi-institutional and randomised trials have become a part and parcel of clinical research, we need to focus on genetic research or molecular research,” he said.

Dr DC Doval, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Instittue and Research Institute Centre, New Delhi, said till date the government of India had not come up with a national policy on cancer that laid emphasis on early screening. “The country is not short of treatment. And as soon as medicines for cancer hits the United States, at the same time it finds it’s way in India too. Where our patients suffer is in terms of cost as most cannot afford the costly treatment. Medical insurance is relatively new in India and if at all it exists the amount is meager,” Dr Doval emphasised.

Dr Alok Semwal, honorary secretary, Indian Medical Association (IMA), said the promotion of oncology and training education in India was an initiative of Dr Reddy’s laboratory whereby doctors who were members of the IMA were educated about the early detection of cancer.

Haridwar, November 14
In the very initial months of the beat policing system in Haridwar district its positive impacts were felt with crime graph coming down and several hard core criminal cases being solved, but in the past nine months the beat police has taken a backseat in the district due to beat police personnel being assigned other duties.

This was more due to twin mega fairs, first the Maha Kumbh spanning over four months and then the annual Kanwar fair, when regular beat police personnel had to be deployed to regulate the rush of devotees. This mostly affected the beat policing in the district as a result of which the crime graph in the district in past few months has once again spiralled.

Not a day seems to be passing without cases of murder, dacoity, theft, molestation being reported. To make sure this crime graph is put under control, SSP, Haridwar, Sanjay Gunjiyal held a meeting of all beat officials at CCR Tower to once again revive the beat policing.

Directing police station in charge and Station House Officers will regularly inspect the beat boxes to ensure beat personnel are found at their boxes and respective areas so that people develop a bond with these personnel. Gunjiyal also announced, in order to lure the beat personnel towards their specified job, that now onwards every month after reviewing the works of the beat personnel those found doing excellent job would be rewarded from his side.

“Such a beat system should be devised that makes the common man come to beat boxes or police stations to file complaints or inform about the criminals without fear. It will be the best indication of the working of the police, particularly in sync with the state police slogan of ‘mitra police’,” said Gunjiyal.

He further urged police officials that any complainant should be treated equally and on the basis of his complaint it should be made sure that the police visited the spot of crime or dispute so that trust of people in police got deeper.

The beat police officers and station in charge also put forth their views, problems and suggestions at the meeting. SP, City, Kiran Lal Shaw, SP, Rural, Roshan Lal Sharma, ASP Janmayjay Khanduri, ASP Nivedita Kukreti, ASP Sunil Meena along with all station house officers were present.

Dehradun, November 14
Imagine a 10-year-old child getting tired easily after a short session of play and having to monitor his diet constantly. This scenario is becoming a reality for most children suffering from juvenile diabetes.

The percentage of such cases is steadily increasing and doctors say that juvenile diabetes is not receiving that much attention. In India, 12 to 16 per cent children are suffering from insulin resistant type-II diabetes which needs to pay adequate attention to the disease that is taking hold of even children.

According to Dr KC Pant, senior physician at the Doon Hospital, juvenile diabetes can be prevented from degenerating into diabetes by timely medication and regular check-ups. “Pre-diabetes is a state wherein blood glucose level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. One should take pre-diabetes as a warning signal for diabetes taking hold, but a pre-diabetic state is not very serious if diagnosed early,” said Dr Pant.

Despite alarming figures, experts say it is easy to prevent the disease. The doctors say that with simple and non-expensive preventive methods, the risk of diabetes can be reduced substantially. “Regular walking for, at least, 30 minutes a day can reduce the risk of type-II diabetes, besides a careful dietary plan with emphasis on seasonal vegetables like spinach and low-sugar fruits can be of great help. Children should be encouraged to eat whole food from the very beginning so that they develop taste and not go for starchy and fried food,” said Dr Bhushan Kumar, private practitioner.

For most kids with diabetes, taking medicine is an important part of staying healthy. Medicine, such as insulin, is a must for kids with type-I diabetes. A kid with type-II diabetes might need medicine too depending on the advice of the doctor and if doctor says to take diabetes medicine, it's very important that the kid take it just as it’s prescribed. “Not taking medicine or not taking it correctly can make a kid feel terrible and cause health problems. He or she even can end up in the hospital. But taking the medicine will keep blood sugar levels from getting too high or too low. And by doing this a kid will stay healthy and feel good,” said Dr Pant.

Dehradun, November 14
Subash Bharthwal, president of the District Youth Welfare Board, wants age relaxation in entrance test for the post of district police. He said the age should be increased to 25 years from the proposed age of 22 years. He kept this demand with the Chief Minister here on Friday.

Barthwal said it had been long that no one had been recruited for the post of the district police, thus the government should increase the age limit so that whosoever wanted to enter this field could be enlisted.

A large number of police officials had met Bharthwal a few days back and told him to see that their salary was increased and facilities provided to them. Thus, he also demanded the salary hike of Sub-Inspector (SI) from Rs 4,200 to Rs 4,600, as the LT teacher’s grade pay is Rs 4,600. The delegation also demanded the increase in motor allowance of an SI from Rs 350 to Rs 500.

Bharthwal said the HRA of an SI and constable were not fixed in Uttarakhand, but it was fixed in Delhi. He also demanded increase in the age limit of group “G” from 35 to 40 years.

He said there were about 21,000 police officials and constables in the district and the government should provide them with all facilities so that they could work properly for the welfare of the citizens.

Dehradun, November 14
The annual meeting of the Uttarakhand Ex-Services League (UESL) took place in the city, where representatives from its 13 district units presented their reports of achievements and problems. On the occasion, GOC, Uttarakhand Sub Area, Gen Ranbir Yadav was also present who gave the UESL a cheque of Rs 25,000. President of the organisation Gen RS Tragi (retd), chief patron Lt Gen Anand Swarup (retd) and Kumaon Regimental Centre Commandant Brig Jasbir Singh were also present on the occasion.

General Tragi asked the district presidents to be equipped with computer education so as to be able to connect with the centre headquarters regarding their problems and speedy redressal.

Representative from Bagheshwar Nayak Kundan Singh asked for a polyclinic at Bagheshwar and for grants from the Chief Minister for the organisation. His suggestion was turned down by secretary, UESL, Lt Col MM Kukreti (retd) saying that they would never beg before the state machinery for their needs and rather pool in money by donating their pensions or taking help from members of the league.

Col BS Mehra (retd), representative from Nainital, cribbed about the prevalent system for ex-servicemen where were made to work under contractors, be it private industries or government agencies. He asked for formulation of a proper regulation, something on the lines of Enforcement Act on this specific issue. He also complained that they did not get supply from the canteen.

Hony Capt Lal Singh (retd) from Pithoragarh expressed disappointment on the apath of new ex-servicemen in joining the UESL. He asked for better medical services saying that the area suffered due to paucity of doctors though he appreciated 108 Ambulance services doing well there.

The representative from Champavat sought a change in the location of a proposed polyclinic from Vanvasa to Champavat for better accessibility. Major BC Dimri (retd) from Chamoli asked to simplify pension regulations for ex-servicemen.

Brig KG Behl (retd) demanded that house rent be made free for UESL premises in the districts. Capt Rajinder Singh Gosai (retd) from Kotdwar demanded ECHS services in his area. He also expressed concern over unavailability of medicine in the polyclinic.

Col GP Joshi (retd) from Haridwar district received applause from the members for getting established a rest house for ex-servicemen at a cost of Rs 90 lakh, marring off seven poor girls and distributing Rs 10,000 among rain-hit disaster victims.

The matter of parents not given money released on the death of Army personnel in ordinary incidents was also put up, which was explained by Brig Jasbir Singh that under ordinary circumstances all funds were received by widow of Army personnel, unless she got married again.

General Tragi (retd) said the problems related to shortage of polyclinics and medicine were serious and his league would take up these issues with respective officials.

Dehradun, November 14
The police has claimed that it is very close to unearthing the missing links in the high-profile robbery at the Vishal Mega Mart in the city. Some miscreants had reportedly robbed Rs 23 lakh at gunpoint on the night of Dhanteras on November 3.

The police said its teams, which had gone to other states to arrest the culprits, had got vital leads into the case and were likely to arrest the suspects in a day or two.

A day after the incident, the police had dispatched teams to three western districts of Uttar Pradesh, besides making raids in Dehradun.

A senior police officer said the robbery was committed with the connivance of a manager at the mart. The manager, who is a son of a Delhi police Sub-Inspector (SI), had along with his old college mate plotted the robbery.

The two had studied together at a college in Noida where they became friends. After passing out, the son of the SI got a job as a manager with Vishal Mega Mart in Dehradun.

They met over a drink and planned the robbery at the mart. The manager’s friend, along with two other accomplices, who had a criminal background, operationalised the plan on Dhanteras.

According to the plan, the manager had to get the CCTV cameras shut two hours earlier than normal and was to give a missed call to his friend at the time of collection of cash.

It was planned that the call would deliberately not be received to avoid coming on the phone call details.

However, the manager’s friend in panic picked up the call before entering the premises and this later spelt trouble for the former.

Besides the fact that the CCTV cameras were shut before time, phone call details also pointed the needle of suspicion to the ‘suspect’ manager as only he, out of the staff members, had made a call just two minutes before the incident.

After receiving the call, the three robbers reportedly robbed the complex of Rs 23 lakh at gunpoint. The ‘suspect’ manager was to get about Rs 10 lakh which he didn’t get and he told the whole story to the cops.

The police added it was possible that there could be one more accomplice who might have been waiting in their car during the crime.

Ever since, police teams have raided several places, particularly in western UP, but the miscreants have so far managed to escape.

Haridwar, November 14
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government for malpractices and mass corruption in the Central government-provided Maha Kumbh budget worth Rs 765 crore, Union Minister of State for Employment Harish Rawat has demanded an impartial probe into the alleged bungling of funds.

Harish Rawat, who is also a local parliamentarian from Haridwar, was addressing activists of the Congress Sewa Dal cell at Har-ki-Pauri where cell activists were sitting on a 48-hour hunger strike to bring attention of people to the Maha Kumbh budget fraud and a CBI investigation into the alleged corruption.

Pointing that the BJP-led state government had failed to properly utilise the Kumbh funds, with developmental works taking a back seat while state ministers and bureaucrats filled their coffers with public money which was meant for development works in Haridwar, Rawat put questions to Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank too.

“Everything happened under the eyes of CM Nishank, while local legislator Madan Kaushik was made in charge of the Kumbh mela, yet the lacklustre, delayed, low-quality works done in the name of Kumbh preparations are there for all to see. Without the knowledge of the Chief Minister and in charge minister, bungling of Kumbh funds could not have been done and the state government should clarify on this issue,” said Rawat, a former Sewa Dal national vice-president.

While demanding a CBI investigation, Sewa Dal state chief organiser Rajesh Rastogi, who sat on a two-day strike said mass corruption was done prior and during Kumbh by state government ministers and bureaucracy of whom a high level probe is essential to bring forth the mass corruption done in name of Kumbh developmental projects and preparations.

Congress city unit chief OP Chauhan also lashed at the BJP government for making this year’s Maha Kumbh a shoddy one in terms of infrastructure and facilities. Barring a bridge and overhead water tanks, nothing substantial had been done which was quite contrary to the claims of Nishank during his numerous visits to Haridwar.

“Nishank had claimed from several times to just wait for the Kumbh and you will see mass changes in Haridwar making it a world class city. But despite seven months since the conclusion of the Kumbh, today too the city bore the same look as prior to the commencement of the mega fair. Only glossy words were used while real funds were misused which has hurt the sentiments of the people,” said Chauhan.

Dehradun, November 14
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the Forest Department’s transit hostel at Chandrabadni on the outskirts of the city. The hostel is to come up at a cost of Rs 2.15 crore at the behest of the Uttaranchal Forest Development Corporation.

He said the UFDC earned Rs 74 crore at the time of its inception way back in 2000, which now had increased to staggering Rs 180 crore.

Among those present were Uttarakhand Forest and Environment Board Advisory Committee Vice-Chairman Anil Baluni, Sahaspur BJP MLA Raj Kumar, UFDC Managing Director Anil Dutt and Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola. — TNS

Dehradun, November 14
With cervical cancer occurring in one among four women in India, early and accurate testing can help diagnose the deadly cancer at the onset.

To provide easy accessibility to women in Uttarakhand to such tests, Dr Ahuja’s Pathology and Imaging Centre yesterday became the first accredited diagnostic laboratory in the region to introduce the new technique of Thin Prep Pap test for early diagnosis of cervical cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV) from Hologic USA.

Dr Vighnesh, pathologist, Hologic Ltd, Bangalore, gave a presentation of the test and said the clinical studies had confirmed that the test was very accurate.