Dehradun, April 9
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today said Uttarakhand was trying to create a unique model that struck a balance between the unique environment and the economic needs of the state.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Samarg Gram Vikas Goshti,” organised by the Uttaranchal Uthan Parishad, the Chief Minister said it was a difficult proposition because development always came at a price. “In the past 10 years we have built around 32,000 km of roads. We see it as a necessity, as it will usher in greater connectivity,” said Dr Nishank.

He said by focusing on the advancement of education and Ayurveda, the government expected to capitalise on the available human and natural resources. “The fragile environment conditions notwithstanding, initial focus on Ayurveda has begun yielding results. The Rs 1.5-crore herbal market has a huge potential for expansion,” he said.

At the same time, he said, the government had already begun empowering 500 villages by allowing them to produce 100 kilowatt of electricity.

Special invitee Shiv Prakash, Kshetriya Pracharak Rashtriya Sewam Sewak Sangh, said economic growth was not possible without involving the remotest villages of the country.

Presenting his model of development, economist Dr Bharat Jhunjhunwala said the problems of migration and joblessness could be tackled by emphasising on service sector. “Instead of focusing on big dams, people of the state will be better served if the service sector is developed. Information Technology parks can be created on the river banks of major rivers,” he stressed.

He said hydro power projects could not sustain the economy of the state. Their impact was limited. “People are jobless now after the construction of dams. We need to avoid this,” he said.

Similarly, he predicted that the industrial activity being witnessed in Kashipur and Rudrapur would not last long with the end of tax holiday.

Nainital, April 9
Udham Singh Nagar district is on the boil on the issue of alleged misuse of the Gaura Devi Kanyadhan Yojana of the state BJP Government. It is learnt that certain BJP leaders have availed the benefits of the scheme in the name of their daughters, whereas a large section of the deserving beneficiaries is yet to get benefits.

Sources in the administration said District Magistrate BVRC Purshottam has ordered verification of the beneficiaries who have been provided economic assistance under the scheme till now across the district. A team of officials has been asked to visit every household where money has been disbursed.

Dr Purshottam has asked the officials to investigate the matter and submit a report at the earliest. He has stated that any undeserving beneficiary found to have availed the benefits of the scheme will face stringent action, including recovery of the funds.

Launched in 2007 by Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd) with much fanfare, the yojana has now evolved as a flagship programme of the Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank-led BJP Government in the state. The scheme aims to encourage higher education among girls belonging to BPL families and a budget provision of Rs 20 crore had been made for this.

Dehradun, April 9
For neonatal children born prematurely, it is a constant battle for survival, especially in Uttarakhand where the mortality rate for neonatals is on the rise. But small efforts made at the District Doon Hospital (Female) have begun to yield results.

Babies with serious problems like birth asphyxia, respiratory distress syndrome, brain infection, pneumonia and other problems being treated at the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are responding to the round-the-clock monitoring by the senior pediatrician and nurses.

Though the babies are brought here at the last minute, they respond better to the treatment and constant monitoring. Though the Doon hospital has an eight-bed NICU, around 18 newborns are accommodated whenever there is a demand.

Dr Srivastav, a senior pediatrician and Joint Director, told The Tribune that the main reason for the death of newborns was that most babies reached here in a critical condition, when private doctors refused to treat them. “But NICU has helped in a big way. Earlier, on a monthly average about 20-25 per cent of neonates admitted here were discharged immediately, and due to one reason or the other, some could not be saved. We hope to do much better once the 22-ward Still Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) becomes functional,” said Dr Srivastav.

The poor in Uttarakhand seek treatment for their newborns at Doon Hospital. Take the case of Ravita who was delivered at Vikas Nagar Community Health Centre (CHC) and diagnosed with severe birth asphyxia. She was later referred to the Doon Hospital (Female) and for the past 24 days the premature baby is housed at NICU and receiving oxygen inhalation, fluids and higher group of antibiotics. “A micro environment has been created at the hospital, which the parents cannot create at home, especially those belonging to the economically weaker sections,” said Dr Dr Deepa Sharma, CMS, Doon Hospital (Female).

As more cases are admitted here, the hospital is said to be finding it difficult to provide timely treatment to neonates with the available facilities and bed capacity.

“Babies should be brought immediately, even if they have only minor health problems, so that they get proper and timely treatment,” said Dr Sharma.

Dehradun, April 9
Members of the College Student Council locked down the office of the HNB Garhwal University Sub-Registrar at Bindal Centre here yesterday.

The agitated students of DAV PG College staged a demonstration at the Sub-Registrar’s office for not allotting the admit cards by HNB Garhwal University to as many as 2,500 students and demanded consideration of the examination forms of the students who were rejected by the university earlier for filling the forms after the due date.

Talking to The Tribune, president of the Student Council Anshul Chawla said, “The entire disorder has occurred due to the apathy of the university. The delay in announcing the results of back paper for the students of first and second year led to the delay in seeking admissions by them and also submitting the examination forms on time”.

“It’s entirely the responsibility of the varsity to allot the roll numbers and admit cards to the students appearing for the annual examinations. We want the university to allot the admit cards to the students as soon as possible. If the university fails to do so, we will agitate against the university and boycott the college examination,” he said.

Dehradun, April 9
Commissioner (Horticulture), Union Agriculture Ministry, Dr Gorakh Singh has big plans for horticulture and would like to do a China in India. He has already begun implementing some of the plans envisaged under the 12th Five-Year Plan and Uttarakhand and North-Eastern states are receiving special attention.

Speaking with The Tribune, while on his recent trip to Dehradun, Dr Gorakh Singh, stressed the need to adopt the latest farm techniques in horticulture to increase productivity.

Q. What are the plans envisaged under the 12th Five-Year Plan for horticulture sector?

A large number of schemes have been formulated to boost vegetable and fruit production and subsidy was being provided to farmers having agricultural land close to big cities to motivate them to grow vegetables under the peri-urban schemes. All this is being done to increase the production of fruits and vegetables to meet the domestic demand and maintain a sustainable price. We will be aiming still higher in the 13th Five-Year Plan.

Q. How will you boost horticulture in Uttarakhand? Have you prepared a road map for the state?

We are promoting cluster approach in several states and at the same time upgrading processing units to reduce post harvest losses. In Uttarakhand, too, we are doing the same thing. There is stress on using quality planting material, establish processing units and above all we are promoting cultivation of kiwi fruit and pomegranate in Tehri and Nainbagh. In order that our farmers manage to access market, we will also take help of private parties as well.

Q. You seem to be banking heavily on horticulture, when agriculture has witnessed a downward trend. What are you aiming at?

Under the peri-urban scheme, we have selected a village or semi urban area with 10 lakh population asking them to utilise the barren land to grow vegetables. I think we can achieve 6.5 per cent growth rate solely through our efforts in horticulture. For this we are promoting technological intervention, high value vegetable seeds are being distributed to the farmers and rejuvenation of existing orchards is high on our agenda. Besides, we are also providing financial support for upgrading processing unit all over the country.

Q You have also been promoting canopy technique for rejuvenation of orchards in a big way. Can you elaborate?

By shaping fruit-bearing trees while they are young, we utilise the land better, but also increase the productivity. The technique can be used for rejuvenating old orchards.

Dehradun, April 9
ONGC (Red) and Security (Blue) have set up a final clash in the ONGC Inter-Departmental Football Tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium of the ONGC. The final will be played tomorrow.

Today in the first semifinal, ONGC (Red) beat ONGC (Green) 2-0. Red’s Kamal Nayn Barthwal (15th minute) scored through penalty kick. The second goal was scored by Nitual Vohra (37th).

Security (Blue) in the second semifinal defeated Union XI 3-2 in the tiebreaker. After a goalless draw, the match went into the tie-breaker round. Sanjay Bhatt and Manmohan Negi scored a goal each for Union. Security (Blue) got their three goals through DS Bisht, Ramprakash Dashmana and Balwant Rana.

Dehradun, April 9
ITM qualified for the final of the 59th District Cricket League defeating Petroleum by 17 runs in a semifinal at the Survey of India Stadium here today.

Petroleum asked ITM to bat first after winning the toss. Abid (97) top scored for his team but was unlucky to miss his ton. Shashank also contributed 37 runs. ITM scored 184 runs in 36.1 overs losing all their wickets.

For Petroleum, Akash got four wickets. Vishal took two wickets. Tushar, Abhishek and Parth also pocketed a wicket each.

In reply, Petroleum could only score 167 runs all out in 38.2 overs. Aditya (31) and Imran (25) were the principal scorers. Shashank and Nadeem of the winning side took three wickets each.

Dehradun, April 9
Man-animal conflict in the state is multi-dimensional and needs a more focussed approach. This was stated at the Corbett Platinum Jubilee workshop on man-animal conflict held here today.

Chairing the deliberations, Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr RBS Rawat said, while anthropogenic factors had caused a substantial increase in man-animal conflict in the state, the forest authorities, too, keep limited options in dealing with such conflict situations.

He said forest authorities faced enormous challenging situations while dealing with man-animal conflict scenarios. He said the villagers were ill equipped to deal with the attack of wild animals. “While on the one hand, people have to be protected, conserving wild animal is also part of the mandate,” said Rawat.

Uttarakhand Chief Wildlife Warden Srikant Chandola admitted that villagers did suffer a lot due to wildlife menace. Apart from human casualty, wild animals like monkeys, wild boars and blue bulls destroyed crops leading to economic losses to the people, thus, bringing them in direct conflict with the wildlife.

Chandola said as respite to the wild-animal attack victims, an insurance company had come forward to insure the crops in hill areas, thus facilitating timely payment of compensation to those directly suffering from the consequences of man-animal conflict.

If the proposal gets going, the company will facilitate payment of compensation within a fortnight of the death of a human being or domesticated animal in an attack by a wild animal.

Uttarakhand Council of Science and Technology Director Dr Rajendra Dobhal said the man-animal conflict was growing alarmingly in the state. He said people were fast losing their patience.

A large number of conservationists, wildlife scientists and officials of the Uttarakhand Forest Department took part in the deliberations.

Haridwar, April 9
With the Uttarakhand Government allocating subsidised ration to people in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, there has been a major rush in getting these cards by those who don’t fall in this category in connivance with the respective authorities.

To ensure a free and fair allocation of BPL cards, a city-based Human Rights Emergency Helpline Association has demanded from state Food and Supplies Minister Diwakar Bhatt to look into the matter with utmost concern as many people have been denied the cards despite the fact that they come under this category.

In a meeting held at Hotel Teerth, Har-ki-Pauri, recently organisation secretary Uday Ram Semwal said they even contacted panchayat secretary, but he didn’t take cognizance of the matter which made them write to the local minister apprising him of the situation. Till date no action has been taken in this regard.

“Many irregularities have been found by our helpline which we are looking into, but still there are many who are being denied by the employees concerned for no fault of theirs,” said Semwal.

“We will meet the minister concerned if no action is taken in this regard,” Semwal added.

The issue of delay in the issuance of medical certificates to handicapped was also raised at the meeting by state general secretary Rana Ran Veer referring to the physically challenged failing to get the requisite medical certificate due to laxity by the hospital authorities.

Earlier, Mahant Kedrapuri presided over the meeting. District vice-president Sant Ram, Adesh Marwadi and Sanjay Sharma were among those present.

Haridwar, April 9
Negligence by the Public Works Department (PWD) has been causing, on a daily basis, minor accidents and inconvenience to commuters at the city’s posh Awash Vikas Colony.

After the construction of a small bridge over the nullah by roughly spreading stones over it, the work has been left midway, which is causing severe inconvenience to the locals.

In view of building a cemented nullah and enlarging the road in this colony to connect it to the BHEL industrial area, the nullah was cemented. But in the designing phase itself, the small bridge went wrong, as it was not at par with the roads on both the sides.

Many vehicles got stuck on the bridge due to this, risking the vehicles behind, while stones, pebbles and other concrete material lying on the surface was quite detrimental to the safety of passersby, both on vehicles and on foot.

Local councillor Sanjay Sharma said he had met officers of the department, but despite repeated assurances nothing had been done so far.

Nearby shop owners Uday Ram Semwal and BS Tejiyan complained that they saw many two-wheelers getting overturned or passersby getting injured almost daily, due to drivers trying to avoid large stones spread on the mini bridge. In turn, they struck the on-foot people.

The PWD officials said the work of finishing and leveling the bridge surface would be done. The affected residents said, “The work has commenced at the said place by evening and has brought relief to us.”

Haridwar, April 9
Though yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s clarification that he is not forming a separate political party may be a setback to the common man who may find Ramdev a better alternative than the corrupt political leaders of today, it certainly has brought a smile to the faces of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

Ramdev has criticised corrupt leaders and bad policies of most parties, including the BJP, but the BJP was fearing that Ramdev’s party would cause a split in a part of its vote base - the saint community and religious groups.

But the possibility of Ramdev joining the BJP can’t be ruled out as for the past few days, various meetings between RSS-BJP national leaders and Ramdev have taken place from which the media had been kept away.

The visits of RSS National Chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat and BJP National Chief Nitin Gadkari at the Patanjali Yogpeeth here and their closed-door conversations with the yoga guru have fuelled speculation that Ramdev may join the saffron party sooner than later.

Interestingly, Mohan Bhagwat had gone to the yogpeeth to attend a Ram katha by Morari Bapu.

Nitin Gadkari spent a whole day to convince Ramdev to side with his party in its campaign against the Congress as Ramdev had been quite vociferous on the corruption charges involving Congress leaders and ministers.

Ramdev even has been facing the Congress party leaders’ wrath as they have been alleging that the yoga guru has illegally amassed wealth in the name of social work at the yogpeeth.

Acharya Balakrishan, general secretary of the yogpeeth, termed the meeting of Ramdev and Gadkari as apolitical in which Gadkari got to know the functioning of the institution.

Ramdev, who went to Delhi to meet Anna Hazare during his agitation on the Lokpal Bill, told The Tribune from the national Capital that he would side with anyone who was ‘clean’ in his individual capacity. He maintained that no party was clean in the Indian political scenario. He said his fight was not against any party, but against corrupt politicians.

Nainital, April 9
Alcohol consumers across the region continue to be a harried lot. The reason for their being disgruntled is that liquor products are being sold over and above the maximum retail price (MRP) listed on the bottles of various brands.

A large number of consumers of both country-made and Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) pointed out that people managing the liquor shops are charging far above the listed MRPs and not providing any reasonable explanation for doing so.

The authorities at the district level said although it had been more than a week since the allotment of liquor shops, the price list from the state administration for various products was yet to arrive. They said the list was expected any day now.

The officials assert that as the revenue targets for every district for the current financial year have gone up by at least 10 per cent, it is obvious that the price of products being sold in retail would go up.

Sources disclosed that right now, the vendors were selling the stocks that had the MRP of the previous year listed on them. They were selling the products at a premium by assuming the new rates.

The customers said depending on the brand of liquor, the prices being charged over the listed MRP were to the tune of Rs 5 to Rs 30 per bottle.

Although the problem of the premium being charged at present has its genesis in the delay in the new rate list, vendors in places like Nainital otherwise also have the tendency to sell the products at rates above the listed MRP.

The issue was pointed out to the District Magistrate about a couple of months ago and checks did result in the vendors mending their ways, but only for a brief while.

Bacchus lovers want that the administration should take steps to protect their consumer rights.

Pitthoragarh, April 9
Government primary schools are gradually closing down as the number of students studying in these schools is on a decrease every year in Champawat district. This was stated by Champawat District Education Officer (DEO) Dr Mukul Sati.

“The number of students in all the 515 primary schools in Champawat district was 4,11,103 in 2009, which decreased to 39,912 in 2010 and at present, it has further decreased to 36,179 students only,” said the Education Officer.

“Even the primary education incentives like midday meal, free books and no-fee schemes are not able to increase the number of students in the government primary schools in the district,” said Sati.

According to the District Education Officer, two schools in Barakot block and one in Lohaghat block have been closed, as there is not even a single student in the school.

“The primary school at Bhanar in Barakot and Kotla in Lock have been closed for the past five years, as no student came to take admission during these years,” said Sati.

The Education Department said besides opening up of private schools in the area and people becoming crazy to educate their wards in these schools, the shifting of villagers from these interior areas due to lack of essential facilities like motor roads and health facilities, as well as in search of employment are other significant reasons behind the fewer number of students in these primary schools.