Dehradun, April 30
From May 15 onwards, children belonging to the disadvantaged groups and weaker sections of society will begin applying for admission to even public and private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, for the ongoing new academic session.

These schools falling under the wards of the corporation have been designated as neighbourhood schools. Besides the government also has plans to open new schools.

Though delayed by a year, since the passage of RTE in Uttarakhand in April 2010, the Education Department has begun the exercise from this academic session by filling 25 per cent of the seats for children in the age group 6-14 years, belonging to the disadvantaged and economically weaker sections of society.

“The parents will be able to apply for admission in the neighbourhood schools of their area as defined in the Act. The neighbourhood schools for primary classes for children in the age group of 1-5 years should fall in the radius of 1 km of the habitation of the family, while the neighbourhood Upper Primary Schools (for children in the age group 6-8years) should fall in the radius of 3 km of the habitation. In these schools, 25 per cent of the seats will be set aside, be they aided or non-aided schools (private and public) and special category schools,” said Sowjanya state project director.

The Education Department has entrusted the District Education Officer (DEO) with the task of overseeing the admissions and coordinating with public and private schools so that 25 per cent of the seats are filled in schools designated as neighbourhood schools, falling under the wards.

“According to the guidelines, at least eight students have to be admitted in the class; if the number of students exceeds the limit, the selection will be made through the lottery system to select the eligible students. The selection procedure will then be overseen by a government nominee, guardians and representative from the media,” said Sowjanya.

According to the Act, the neighbourhood schools at the primary level can be set up in a neighbourhood with a population of 200 families and the intake of the students will be 25 children, while the Upper Primary School can be set in areas where the population is of 400 families and 25 children can be admitted. Every year, the strength of the neighbourhood schools is expected to increase.

Whereever the neighbourhood schools do not exist, as per the criteria, the government will provide transportation and escort to ferry children in the nearby neighbourhood schools. The government will spend around Rs 50 crore-60 crore under the Act and will also provide for uniform for children falling under the BPL category to all girl students. 

Dehradun, April 30
Taking no lessons from last year’s floods, work is yet to start on the storm water drainage system.

During the meeting of senior government officials last year, the government had decided to hire the services of a New Delhi-based ENC Consultant, so that it could submit a detail project report (DPR) of the storm water drainage system. But no action has been taken in this regard so far.

Executive Engineer of Peyjal Nigam SC Pant said the matter as to which agency would foot the bill, was yet to be sorted out.

Last year, the government had asked the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority and the Urban Development Department to foot the bill, but no money had been allocated for the project. The expected cost of the total project is between Rs 400 and Rs 450 crore, but the government has not even paid the ENC Consultant the DPR amount of Rs 63 lakh.

However, the company is in town as the evaluation of the plan by the Central Public Health Environment Engineering Organisation is currently underway.

“Our valuable time is being wasted as we are forced to hold consultation with the company that is examining the water logging prone areas, though we have not prepared the plan,” said SC Pant. 

Nainital, April 30
Nobel laureate Prof Martin Price along with 25 other foreign experts will be deliberating on issues related to globalisation and mariginalisation at the International Geography Commission Conference, scheduled to be held here from May 2 to May 4.

Professor Price had shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with other members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former United States Vice- President Al Gore. He will be speaking on “Mountain: A Common Global Good”.

The Director-General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) at Kathmandu will be delivering a keynote address “The Himalayas as the providers of essential eco-system services -- Opportunities and Challenges”.

The Director of the Institute of Mountain Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Prof Axel Borsdorf, will be talking on “Hydropower -- Entrance to or Escape from Marginality.”

In addition to this, the President of the International University of Kyrgyzstan, AA Aidaraliev, will be delivering a lecture on “Poverty and Global Warming”.

The International Geography Union’s (IGU) thought behind such a deliberation is that many parts of the globe and social groups remain marginal even in the present era of globalisation. Though some marginal societies have gained some prosperity, many are subjected 
to an increasingly demanding market forces. While the mountain regions and other marginal areas are becoming better known to the world, a majority of them are still facing challenges such as poverty, physical isolation and social marginalisation.

There is a thought that the development initiatives taken by the local government and planning institutions have often failed to significantly improve the socio-economic conditions in and between the mountainous and other marginal areas along with their neighbouring territories. The models of development imposed by outside agents have often undermined the needs and structures of local mountain societies and ultimately often only served the causes of market forces.

Thinkers believe that the fate of the marginal and mountain communities depend on the framework of national or international economic policies. Mountain regions are particularly vulnerable to open market policies often because of their fragility and environmental sensitivity.

The Vice-Chancellor of the Kumaon University, Dr VPS Arora, asserted, “We need to analyse and understand what is our response to globalisation.”

An interesting aspect of the IGU event will be a series of lectures in a special session being dedicated to Pandit Naini Singh, the famous explorer of Tibet and Central Asia. These lectures will be delivered by Prof KS Valdiya, Prof Donald F Lynch from University of Alaska, Prof Martin Price and a former Uttarakhand Chief Secretary, Dr RS Tolia.

Dehradun, April 30
A 35-year-old constable, Dinesh Kumar Shah, shot himself in the head with a carbine at his home in the Nalapani area of the city, here today.

According to preliminary investigations, conducted by the Dehradun police, Dinesh was under depression since he was under debt which led to frequent quarrels with his wife.

According to police sources, the deceased constable was drunkard and had fights with his wife almost every day. Today also in the morning, in a state of intoxication, he had a scuffle with his wife after which he shot himself.

The body of the deceased has been sent for postmortem at Doon Hospital.

Dehradun , April 30
Governor Margaret Alva has said that Uttarakhand needs to identify and notify child placement and adoption agencies and monitor their activities besides supervising and ensuring the well-being of the adopted child or ward.

Delivering her address as chief guest at the inaugural session of a conference on “Child Adoption Laws in Uttarakhand”, organised in the auditorium of Raj Bhawan here today, the Governor said the state must endeavour to sensitise its administrative machinery, especially the police, to its role and duties and stop the growing menace of trafficking in children.

The conference was organised by the Uttarakhand State Council of Child Welfare in association with Siddhartha Law College, Dehradun.

The Governor said the state must be developed as a model state in terms of post-adoptive care and security of children. Taking a cue from the Governor's clarion call, a seven-member committee headed by Justice RR Agarwal was constituted to work on a three-point agenda on the issues of child adoption and post-adoptive care. It will submit a report on these issues to the Governor in one month's time.

In her address, the Governor, among other things, highlighted the plight of adopted children falling prey to unscrupulous elements, and called for exercising greater vigilance on the part of the enforcement agencies and civil society to curb the menace.

Expressing her concern at the sharp decline in the child sex ratio (0-6 years age group) evident from the data of Census 2011, the lowest since Independence, the Governor said the ratio had continued to decline over the last decade despite a slew of laws to prevent female foeticide and schemes to encourage families to have girl children.

"The most disturbing aspect is that areas that have made substantial gains in literacy in 2011 over the 2001 Census figures have also registered a sharp decline in the child sex ratio, implying that sex determination technology and female foeticide is reaching people at a faster rate as they become literate", she said."This is indeed a serious reflection on the state of our women in their continuous battle for survival, from the womb to the tomb.”

The Governor said of the 11 million abandoned children in the country, 90 per cent were girls. They had little hope of finding a home, for a little over 2,500 (2,518 to be exact) were adopted in 2009.

The Governor said modifications in adoption laws brought in through the Juvenile Justice Act were a welcome step. "The fact, however, remains that the approach to adoption, as a child care arrangement, is not yet fully developed. It calls for a complete overhaul of the state-backed adoptive mechanism and a multi-pronged approach; changes in all related fields; a higher priority to covering all aspects, followed by sincere implementation", the Governor said, and called upon the conference participants to draw up a comprehensive plan of action on the issue.

Justice BC Kandpal highlighted the need for the establishment of independent agencies for placement and scrutiny. 

Dehradun, April 30
Dashmesh Academy held its annual function here today. Students presented a cultural performance on the occasion. They presented folk dance, patriotic songs and skits.

As many as 256 students, who had excelled in academics and extra-curricular activities, were awarded certificates along with scholarships by the Social Welfare Department.

The chief guest, Ashok Vasu, chairman, Summer Valley School, awarded the meritorious students and congratulated them for their academic accomplishments. — TNS

Dehradun, April 30
The gentlemen cadets of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) took home the gold medal in the team event of the Delhi Horse Show and National Equestrian Championship held by Army Polo and Riding Club, at Nicholson Polo Ground, New Delhi, recently. The gentlemen cadets of the Indian Military Academy impressed with their performance in the jumping show event of the Delhi Horse Show at the Army Equestrian Centre on Thursday. With over 55 riders competing, the IMA Gentlemen Cadets ultimately took home gold in the team show jumping event. While in the individual category, Gentlemen Cadet Pritam Mishra astride ‘Ajit’ made some impressive efforts and bagged the individual award. The team worked hard to bring glory and repute to the institution.

A jumping competition is one in which the combination of the horse and the competitor is tested under various conditions over a course of obstacles. It is a test intended to demonstrate the horses’ freedom, its energy, its skills and its obedience in jumping and the competitors’ horsemanship.

IMA Gentlemen Cadets led by Amit Chaudhuri astride ‘Tornado’, Arijit Rana astride ‘Remarkable’, Rokesh astride ‘Amazing Grace’, displayed amazing skills and high standards in equestrian sporting talent in the country.

In the finest traditions of the military, the first Delhi Horse Show was organised by the British Indian Army in the 1930s.