Dehradun, May 19
Water filters installed by the Peyjal Nigam in some of the primary and upper primary schools in Uttarakhand are not only quenching the thirst of hundreds of schoolchildren but also helping them access safe and clean water.

Installed under the Jal Mani programme, the 25-litre capacity water filters can be seen vying for space in schools even in remote districts of the state bringing smiles on the faces of parents who earlier fretted about the health of their children.

“The quality of water deteriorates when it actually reaches the consumption point especially in vulnerable areas like rural schools. The water filters have become an utmost necessity now. We began by reaching out to the schools located in the interior-most part of the state, so border areas were our first target and then we moved to those away from the road head,” said Bhajan Singh, Managing Director, Peyjal Nigam.

Already 711 (till April 2011) water filters have been installed and are being actively used by students to quench their thirst during school hours. The Peyjal Nigam has spent around Rs 55 lakh so far, the programme took off in 2009 and some more new schools will be added this year. “We have presented a proposal of 1,300 schools to be brought under the Jal Mani scheme, as soon as the Central Government approves the number of schools, we will begin work. The programme is fully funded by the Central Government under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme,” said Bhajan Singh.

In fact the joint ownership of water filters vested with school authorities and panchayats is expected to provide desired monitoring and keep the Jal Mani programme going.

“The list of schools was easy, the programme first covered remote districts of the state like Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi and Champawat. In these districts, the last school was picked up, the response was overwhelming in these schools and regular monitoring is carried out by the school teachers,” said Sowjanya State Project Director Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

The Peyjal Nigam had selected Watex company through the open-bid system, the company is expected to provide service for five years. “Initially, we had selected some other company, but it failed to install the water filters, as a result our programme got a bit delayed and that company has now been blacklisted,” said Bhajan Singh.

Nainital, May 19
Senior Uttarakhand politician Munna Singh Chauhan has attacked Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank and his government for hiring a battery of private lawyers to defend them in different courts while not making use of the Attorney-General and his subordinates whom the government is paying hefty salaries.

“The message that goes out is that either the Advocate- General and the people right down to the brief holders are incompetent or there is a scam in the payments being doled out to private lawyers. The government should come clean on whether the payments being made to these lawyers are from the government exchequer or are the leaders facing charges doing it from their own pockets,” said the firebrand leader from Jaunsar Babar region, who was till 2009 a part of the BJP regime in the state. He had quit both his seat as a legislator and the party in disagreement over the functioning of the government in the state.

Chauhan underlined that the role of the government was to help the prosecution but here it was itself a party for prosecution. He said normally in cases of contempt, the government did not defend its functionaries. Referring to the payments being made by the Nishank government to private lawyers, Chauhan has alleged that the payments are being made in a two-way mode: from the exchequer and ‘under the table’.

The issue of why should a tax payer’s money be used for paying lawyers to defend government functionaries charged with wrong doings and why the Nishank government has failed to utilise the services of the Advocate-General and other standing counsel has become a hot topic of discussion. Raising a storm over another issue pertaining to the alleged charges of corruption against the former Chairman of the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited, Yogendra Prasad, Chauhan said,”I do not want to comment on the legal proceedings in the matter and the merits of the case. But I demand a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the counter charges levelled by Prasad that he has been hounded by the government because he had failed to sign on the dotted line on the documents pertaining to the 56 hydel projects that have become the centre of a major scam and a controversy. The probe by the CBI is required because the state Vigilance Department is working under the pressure of the state government.”

Denying that he is defending Prasad, he said,”In fact I was amongst the first to seek his removal right at the beginning. But in a democracy, his view needs to be investigated as well in a serious matter like this.”

Nainital, May 19
In a gruesome incident reported from the Ladhiya valley, Lohaghat, the priest of the famous Khudai temple was murdered along with one other person. It is being suspected that the two were poisoned to death by a baba and his accomplice who had been at the temple for more than a week while a Bhagwat Katha was on.

It is being assumed that the alleged killers, identified as Baba Dayamuni and Lakshman Singh, fled after taking the offerings made during the katha.

According to the information, it was on Wednesday morning that Kishorenath saw his grandfather Jagannath Swami, who was the priest at the temple along with Khimanand Binwal of Betlar village, lying dead when he went to call them for the morning meal. While Swami was 75 years of age, Binwal was 39 years old. The nervous boy informed the villagers who went on to call the police. During the primary investigations it was found that while Binwal’s body bore burn marks on his neck, the undershirt of Jagannath Swami was also burnt. The baba and his accomplice, who are learnt to have participated in the katha, are said to be residents of the Okhalkanda area of Nainital district. The police suspects that the cause of the murder could be the division of the offerings that were made by the devotees during the katha.

Mussoorie, May 19
The 77th birthday celebrations of Ruskin Bond, an Indian author of British descent, were a low-key affair this year in Mussoorie. Bond arrived at Cambridge Book Store at Kulri Bazar around 4 pm today, much to the delight of his fans who, extending greetings and presenting flowers to him, wished him on his birthday. The cake was, however, missing from the ceremony this year. According to the shop owner of the Cambridge Book Store, Sunil Arora, “This year, according to Bond’s wishes, the birthday celebrations were to be kept minimal without much fanfare.” The fans bought several books written by Bond and got them autographed by the author himself. The eminent author, Ganesh Saili, also visited the book store and wished him on his birthday.

Kritika Anand, a student from Waverly Convent, was delighted after getting a book autographed by the author. She said she had read almost all books written by Bond and to meet him in person was like a dream fulfilled. A group of students from Bhopal, who were passing by, praised their luck that they could meet and chat with Bond for a while. Shruti, a student from Bhopal, was of the view that their vacation was now complete after meeting the author whose books they had read while growing up. Arora, the book store owner, said that this year the cake was cut at his residence in the early morning to avoid the surging crowds like last year and, moreover, Bond also wanted it to be a low-key affair, hence the celebrations were kept mellow to a great extent.

Bond thanked his friends and fans on the occasion and said that he would continue to write books especially for children in the years to come. Bond reminisced about his days when he began writing and his novel “Room on the Roof” hit the store. “I have not looked back since and the passion to tell tales involving children is still alive within me. He said his next book “Adventures of Uncle Ken”, a comedy, was scheduled to be released next week.

Bond said the taste of his readers was also changing according to the times. “Present-day children, instead of spending their time outdoors, were sitting more inside their homes, playing computer games or surfing on the internet, which was sad in a way.

Bond has been influenced by the social life in the hill stations and at the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood.

Dehradun, May 19
Members of the Uttarakhand Lekhpal Association today staged a dharna at the Revenue Commissioner’s office in Dehradun.

Leading those sitting on the dharna, Radhey Shyam Painuily, general secretary of the association, alleged that the state government was not fulfilling their longstanding demand for better pay and perks intentionally. He said a Lekhapal must get at least a grade pay of Rs 4,500 instead of the present Rs 3,050 grade pay. He said no travelling allowance was provided to the Lekhpals despite their work involving extensive travelling.

Promotion opportunities for revenue inspectors and immediate recruitment to the vacant posts of Lekhpal in the state Revenue Department were some other demands raised by the protestors.

They also submitted a memorandum linked to their demands on the occasion.

Dehradun, May 19
In protest against automatic slaughterhouses in UP, members of the Uttaranchal Jain Milan Samaj today submitted a memorandum to the Dehradun District Magistrate and asked him to forward the same to the Governor of UP.

Chander Sen Jain, president of samaj, submitted the memorandum. Talking to the media, Rajiv Jain, a member of the samaj, said with the starting of automatic slaughterhouses, many animals were being killed. “It is our duty to save animals,” he added.

Dehradun, May 19
Tarasha Bansal and Anya in Grade IV to VII while Kavya and Vijeta Das in Grade VIII and IX made it to the city finals of “Discovery India Quiz with Anupam Kher” here today. They are the students of Unison World School.

The quiz was organised by the Dean (activities) in collaboration with Discover India. A group of four members from Discover India, New Delhi, also came to the school. The programme was sponsored by the Bajaj Allianze with support from APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India.

It was on the pattern of famous television game show, “Kaun Banega Crorepati”, wherein actor Anupam Kher asked questions to the participants on screen. The quiz was conducted in two sessions, one for Grade IV to VII and the other for Grade VIII and IX, with 10 questions for each session.

Veena Singh, Principal of the school, said: “It was a good experience for girls to have been exposed to this kind of quiz where they got to know a lot about our heritage.”

She gave medals to the winners on behalf of Discover India. The programme culminated with a vote of thanks by the Dean (activities), Trilok Singh Bist.

Dehradun, May 19
To get their demands fulfilled, members of the Uttarakhand Collectorate Ministerial Karamchari Sangh went on a three-day strike here today.

Talking to the media, Rajindra Semwal, state president of the sangh, said the organisation of the collectorate was to be done but they were waiting for the same for a long time. “We are fighting for the past three years for the organisation of the collectorate. It was decided at a meeting way back in 2008 that the formation of the organisation was necessary. It was then that under the presidentship of the Kamaun Mandal Commissioner that a committee was formed that had then given its report to the government in January 2010. But the demand is still pending since then,” he stated.

Dehradun, May 19
BDM Delhi defeated Services by two wickets in a pre-quarterfinal of the ongoing 29th All-India Uttarakhand Gold Cup Cricket Tournament here on Rangers College Ground.

BDM chose to field first after winning the toss. Services scored 173 runs in 30.5 overs before getting all out. Yaspal Singh (60) and Pretik Desai (34) were the principal scorers for the batting side.

For BDM, Ravinder Singh scapled four wickets and Rahul Sethi took two. Batting second, BDM scored the required total in 28.2 overs losing eight wickets. Milind (50 off 30) scored a fast half century.

Rajender Singh Bisht (30) also chipped in. Ritesh Negi got three wickets while Yaspal Singh took two wickets. Mayank, Irfan Khan and Prateek Desai also pocketed a wicket each.

Dehradun, May 19
For the first time, the Uttarakhand Police has won two gold and two silver medals in the 59th All-India Police Athletics Championship held at Rohatk in Haryana from May 14 to 18.

In 1500m, Head Constable Ravinder Rautela claimed a gold medal, while he had to be satisfied with a silver medal in the 800m. Constable Suraj Singh won a silver medal during the championship.

Yashjit Singh got a gold medal in the javelin-throw event. All three players have made the Uttarakhand Police and the state proud by winning laurels at the national police athletics meet. Secretary, Uttarakhand Police Sports Control Board, congratulated the players on their success and declared a cash reward for them. Rs 10,000, and Rs 5,000 have been announced to be paid to the gold and silver medialists, respectively.

The information has been provided by the media cell of the police.