Dehradun, May 20
It was another hectic day for the people from in and around the city who visited the Collectorate, SDM and Tehsil offices here today as they had to face a tough time getting their work done. They were seen running from pillar to post, but still returned empty handed. Moreover, it is not known for how many more days, they will have to face the situation.

Lekhpals stage a protest in Dehradun on Friday. A Tribune photograph

The reason for the problem is the strike by the Uttarakhand Ministerial Collectorate Karamchari Sangh for the second consecutive day and by the Uttarakhand Lekhpal Sangh for the 45th day.

Due to this, all works related to the revenue, sale of stamp papers and issuing of various documents are kept on hold.

Uttarakhand Collectorate Ministerial employees in all tehsils and SDM/DM offices are on a three-day symbolic protest since Thursday.

Reiterating immediate fulfilment of their pending demand for restructuring of the Collectorate, the agitating employees threatened that in case the government continued to backtrack from what it had promised them in 2008, they would stage an indefinite protest all over the state, next month.

“If the state government continues to turn a deaf ear to our concerns, we will sit on a one-day dharna at the main revenue office on May 27 and, thereafter, we will go on indefinite strike from June 1,” Rajinder Kumar, state president of the Uttarakhand Ministerial Collectorate Karmchari Sangh told The Tribune.

While leading the members of the Uttarakhand Lekhpal Sangh, Radhey Shyam Painuily, general secretary of the association, alleged that the state government was not fulfilling its longstanding demand of increasing their salaries 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 and also no travelling allowance was provided to them 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 are some other demands raised by them.

The Lekhpal Sangh also submitted a memorandum to the Dehradun District Magistrate in the name of Uttarakhand Chief Minister in the afternoon. 

Dehradn, May 20
Implementing a disease-specific diet plan for patients suffering from diabetes, heart disease and other ailments would never be easy, the Doon Hospital authorities have found so after failing to implement the disease-specific menu months after it was announced.

In a bid to give better service to patients, the authorities had decided to draw up a disease-specific diet plan, but it has been outrightly rejected by the food contractor.

On the suggestion of the in-house dietician, a diet plan was planned for patients suffering from diabetes, liver disease and other ailments keeping their specific requirements in mind. But it seems the plan has been rejected by the food contractor who has found little merit in the plan in terms of profit and suitability.

“We want to attend to the needs of the patients in a focused manner. On a given day the menu prepared at the in-house kitchen comprises dal, seasonal vegetable, chapatis and rice, but we wanted to reduce the carbohydrate content for a patient suffering from diabetes or protein content from the diet of a patient with sluggish liver, but the contractor views things differently and the plan is again being studied,” said Dr BC Pathak.

At present, the food is prepared in the kitchen, which is situated on the premises of the hospital and often the diabetic patients have to contend with a surfeit of carbohydrates and potatoes in their food, which may be not recommended for them, sources at the hospital said.

There are approximately 1,000-1,500 patients at the hospital and on an average each patient is accompanied by two relatives. So the food has to be served to around 4,500 people and the adherence to a disease-specific diet plan would have complicated matters for the caterer, who prefers keeping things as simple as possible.

By all accounts the food prepared in the kitchen at the hospital is healthy and wholesome with minimum salt content and minimum oil but experts say this is not enough for patients suffering from various diseases and the diet plan should be implemented even if the patient admitted to the hospital for a short time.

Dehradun, May 20
In a rare endeavour today, Chief Information Commissioner along with Information Commissioners was in attendance as a group of children threw a volley of questions in an interactive session on Right to Information.

The queries ranged from disaster management, sanitation, health infrastructure and even scholarships.

Under the Right to Information Act, children as old as one year can seek information, in Uttarakhand there have been more than 408 applications filed under the Act.

Troubled by the shoddy management of compensation distributed among family members who were badly affected by the natural disaster that struck last year, 12- year-old Shubam Murari of Purola block (Uttarkashi) pointed out to the Chief Information Commissioner NS Napalchayal and Information Commissioner Vinod Nautiyal how he was threatened by the village official, including the Tehsildar, when he had asked for information regarding compensation paid to the affected families in his village.

Equally, the children also rued the fact that they had to pay stamp fee for filing petitions and how the Public Information Officer (PIO) withholds information.

In all 80 children participated in the interactive session and had come from 13 districts of the state.

NS Napalchayal, Chief Information Commissioner, lauded the effort of the children and said that they should be encouraged to use the RTI tool effectively and the elders should take a lesson from the children.

The interactive session was facilitated by Mountain Children’s Foundation (MCF). “During the last year, the MCF worked with over 3,747 children and 502 adults in 75 villages covering 13 districts of Uttarakhand. A total of 408 RTI applications were filed by the children,” said Aditi Kaur of MCF.

She said the RTI applications focused mainly on issues that directly impacted the rights of the children of Uttarakhand.

The other organisations that participated in the session included Arpan-Pithoragarh, Sudha-Almora, SIMAR -Bageshwar, Kagas - Chapawat, NGVSS - Udham Singh Nagar, Chahat -Nainital, Chestha- Nainital, Sead -Pauri, Sead -Dehradun, SBMA -Gairsain, Grass-Ridraprayag, Hensr - Uttarkashi, PDI -Haridwar, Mt Valley - Tehri and Bal panchayat Horrawalla - Dehradun.

Mussoorie, May 20
Owing to the rising temperature in the hill town of Mussoorie this summer, hoteliers have been forced to install ceiling fans in every room to make it easier for the tourists to escape the scorching heat. However, for the tourist loving the outdoors, Company Garden, 3 km away from Mussoorie, is fast emerging as the most sought after destination to beat the heat. The Summer Bloom at the Company Garden is providing the tourists with a much- needed destination to relax and enjoy amid the tall pine trees.

A tourist from Delhi, Ramesh Talwar, visiting the garden for the first time with his family, was of the view that it was neatly maintained and had a bit for everyone in the family. He said the tall pine trees provided the much- needed cool breeze in this season. The riot of colours presented by the plethora of flower varieties relaxed the mind and proved soothing. Another tourist, Mamta, from Sahranpur said that the garden was an apt getaway from the heat and dust back home. “The air is much cleaner here” added Mamta.

Sharda, a mother of two from Mumbai, said that various forms of entertainment available here kept the children occupied while the elders could discuss matters that were neglected due to the busy life in the metros.

The president, Garden Welfare Association, Surendar Rana, taking pride in the well-maintained Company Garden said that earlier the property was maintained by the Mussoorie Municipal Council but after the Garden Welfare Association was given an opportunity to maintain it under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, the landscape has changed for better. The director of Yasin Fernery, the official caretakers of the garden, Vimal Sharma, said that the grass in the lawns had been re-laid after a prolonged winter session and new variety of flowers had been added this year.

He further said that it was a colour riot with as many as hundred species of flowers blooming simultaneously this summer. The flowers in full bloom are Geranium, Cinnereria, Renenculus, Cyclamen, Foxgloves, Contranium, Columbines, Pansies and Viola to name a few. Kale, also popularly known as ornamental cabbage, has been introduced for the first time this year. Sharma asserted that the Company Garden had the biggest collection of tuberous begonia under one roof in the country. More than 20 varieties of rose were also another attraction. He further said that a huge effort had gone into procuring the flowers not only from within the country, but from far off lands such as Japan and Germany. The garden also offered students of botany a huge opportunity to experience and conduct research on the flora and fauna of the region.

The blooming garden had become a home for many animal species, ranging from flying fox to the colorful butterflies which could be seen collecting nectar in abundance. The hybrid nursery was another added attraction in the garden, where tourists could take home their favorite flowers. A food court, aptly called “Begonian Glory”, along with other restaurants such as “Rendezvous” and “Copper Grill” was the new addition, which tourists would find to their liking.

However, this all did not come without a cost and the entry fee that was earlier Rs 10 had been raised to Rs 15 due to escalating cost and the expansion of area under operation.

The Mussoorie Municipal Council president OP Uniyal termed the Company Garden as “a PPP-mode success story.” Speaking to The Tribune, he said the MC could not have been able to maintain such a sprawling property on its own. “The Company Garden has emerged as one of the shining jewels of the town,” added Uniyal. He further said that the council was also trying to replicate the same model at other tourist destinations such as Mossy and Bhattta fall in near future. 

Dehradun, May 20
In view of the increasing cyber crime rate in Uttarakhand, Justice Rajesh Tandon, Chairperson, Cyber Appellate Tribunal, has demanded from the state government to open a separate cyber court in Dehradun, today.

Tandon, who is here in Dehradun to address a seminar on Cyber Law, said, “We have recently received 11 cases of cyber crime from Uttarakhand, including bank fraud, online business and similar cases. I wonder that in today’s scenario of advanced technology, the Uttarakhand IT secretaries and police officials are aware about the cyber laws and their powers to handle the cases.”

“Tomorrow a team of professionals on cyber law from across the country will address a training session as well as a seminar to help the state administration in understanding the law better and to enforce a vigilant force to check cyber crime in Uttarakhand,” he added.

The Chairperson was of the view that a separate cell of cyber crime should be formed in every district and block level of Uttarakhand to keep account of the crime rates involving mobile phones or internet. “These cells should also create awareness among the common masses so that they could easily access judicial assistance,” he said.

However, tomorrow the seminar will be presided over by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who will also inaugurate the video-conferencing system pertaining to the advanced cyber laws. The programme will culminate with a valedictory function, addressed by the state assembly Speaker, Harbansh Kapoor.

He also said that eminent personalities and professionals in the IT sector would address tomorrow’s session. The chief guest at the seminar would be Justice VS Sirpurkar, Supreme Court of India, accompanied by Justice Cyriac Joseph, Supreme Court of India, Justice Anil Kumar, Delhi High Court, Justice Pradeep Kant and Justice Yatinder Singh, Allahabad High Court, Justice Alok Singh, Panjab and Haryana High Court, Prakash Pant, Uttrakhand Minister of Parliamentary affairs, and B S Bhauryal, Uttarakhand Minister of Information and Technology. 

Dehradun, May 20
A 1979 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IFS officer, Dr VK Bahuguna has taken over as the new Director-General of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun.

Dr Bahuguna has held the key post of Technical Expert (Finance and Administration) in the National Rainfed Area Authority of the Planning Commission before coming to the ICFRE.

He is the recipient of several awards like the Commonwealth Forestry Association’s Queen’s Award (2000), the Seth Memorial Prize (1989) and the Brandis Memorial Prize (1987).

As Technical Expert of the National Rainfed Area Authority, he was instrumental in coming up with a Rs 2,200 crore Union Environment and Forest Ministry project for 16 states,including Uttarakhand. The project includes measures to improve livelihood opportunities apart from initiatives like plantation improvement to conserve water. 

Dehradun, May 20
The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) team won their quarterfinal match during the 29th All-India Uttarakhand Gold Cup Cricket Tournament by defeating Sporting Cricket Club, Delhi, by two wickets here today. The match was played at the Rangers’ College ground.

A batsman plays a shot in a match in the All-India Uttarakhand Gold Cup Cricket Tournament played at the Rangers’ College ground in Dehradun on Friday. A Tribune photograph

Sporting Club, Delhi, won the toss and elected to bat first. The team took the opportunity brilliantly and set a target of 160 runs in 32 overs. Piyush Negi made the highest score of 46 runs in the team’s total.

Chasing the target, Abhinav Kataria and Rahat Elahi of LDA guided their team to victory. The scored 53 runs and 41 runs, respectively, to help LDA reach the socre of 161 runs at the loss of 8 wickets in 27.3 overs.

Meanwhile, in another match played at the Kasiga School ground, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) beat BDM XI, Delhi, by 67 runs. HPCA team won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 197 runs in their allotted quota of 35 overs with the help of Abhimanyu (54), Hemant Dogra (38) and Mohan Sharma (45).

In reply, BDM XI was all out for 150 runs in 29.4 overs. Amtej Singh was the top scorer with 57 runs. Mannan Sharma took three wickets for 17 runs for the Himachal team.