Dehradun, July 8
The GVK Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI) 108 ambulance service is in the process of launching an emergency boat service catering to the emergency medical needs of the people of Tehri district by mid-August.

A boat with a driver and a medical technician would be located at the Tehri Dam reservoir to handle ambulance emergencies of over a dozen villages in Tehri. Initially the boat would operate in the half of the reservoir.

“We are in the process of equipping the boat with the necessary equipment and getting the logistics ready for its launch in August. The boat, with a driver and a medical technician, would ferry patients to the nearest road head from where they would be shifted to an 108 ambulance,” said Manish Tinku, Head of Operations, GVK EMRI 108 (Uttarakhand).

The operation of the boat from the Tehri dam reservoir is expected to reduce travel time for its users from two and a half hours to 40 minutes. “In emergency situations, shorter routes can help patients access medical care early,” he said, adding that at present, the GVK EMRI is operating a boat on the Brahmaputra in Assam. In normal circumstances, the boat provides training to people on health, sanitation, livestock care and education. ”During emergencies like floods, the boat has been providing relief materials to the affected people,” said Tinku.

The boat ambulance, equipped with life-saving equipment, is the first of its kind public service scheme providing speedy and efficient healthcare to people and the Uttarakhand government is hoping that with the launch of the boat ambulance, the healthcare scenario will improve considerably.

The GVK EMRI and the Uttarakhand Government have been operating 114 ambulances in the state. These ambulances reach even the remotest parts of the state.

Mussoorie, July 8
Tourists at the Kempty Falls were shocked to see a hole at the main swimming pool which was filled up with mud and debris due to the overnight monsoon showers. It also revealed the shoddy construction and beautification work done by the PWD by spending Rs 4.24 crore that was funded by the Tourism Department.

According to former Vyapar Sangh president Salig Ram, when they arrived at the falls this morning, they found that all four pools were filled with mud. The main swimming pool was the most affected that suffered an immense damage.

Salig Ram further said the newly constructed railing and tiles were washed away in the heavy rains and a huge crack developed in the cemented base of the pool. It resulted in water going underground.

He further said the construction work done by the PWD was of substandard nature and as it could not withstand the first heavy rain of this monsoon. He demanded that the maintenance of the Kempty Falls should be handed over to the Bunglow ki Kandi Gram Panchayat which was better placed than the Zila Panchayat as none had turned up to see it since the construction work was completed.

State Disaster Minister Khajan Das, speaking to the media, said prima facie it looked like a natural disaster but if any complaints of shoddy construction were found, punitive action would be taken without any haste.

He also said the government was also thinking of installing Doppler radar to assess the natural disasters in Mussoorie and Nainital in association with the Met Department so that such dangers could be averted. The locals would also be provided with the necessary training to deal with such disasters, added Khajan Das.

Denying the allegations of misuse of funds in the project, Khajan Das firmly stated that the project had been completed and handed over to the Zila Panchayat, Tehri Garhwal. He also said an investigation had also been directed to remove any such misconceptions.

However, President, Zila Panchayat, Tehri Garhwal, Ratan Singh Gunsola refuted the claims of the minister and said they had categorically refused to take charge of the project citing huge maintenance cost as the main reason. “The PWD is free to hand over the project to anyone or run it by itself” added Gunsola.

It seems that no department is ready to take charge of the Kempty Falls despite whopping amount being spent on renovation and beautification.

Dehradun, July 8
Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli has said the main road from Patel Nagar to Kargi that leads to Mahant Indresh Hospital will be opened by the end of next week.

Talking to the media here today, he stated that earlier the way was closed on request of the Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences that wanted to get the affiliation from the MCI, according to which the college as well as the hospital needed to be on the same premises. But now there is no issue as such thus the wall would be bulldozed.

The board had then given its nod to the hospital but now it had requested the institute to demolish it, the Mayor mentioned and added that they had spoken to Mahant Devinder Das who had agreed to do so. This would decrease the distance by more then half km from the Lal Pool and people would be saved from the damaged roads, the Mayor affirmed.

“If the road separating the medical college and hospital on other side is opened, it will have no adverse effect,” he retorted.

The Under Secretary of the Government of India has also forwarded the letter given by Bhagat Singh Koshyari, MP and former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, on the representation made by Mahant Devendra Das, Shri Guru Ram Rai Education Mission, to theboard of governors, Medical Council of India in September 2010, he lamented.

The other issue discussed by the Mayor was related to the Gandhi Park. Chamoli said he was happy that after he took the action for the benefit of the park, a place for organising the protest had been relocated to Parade Ground and he had received the positive response from the people.

Two of the tenders related to the beautification of the park and footpath would be floated on July 13 and the others were in the pipeline. While the Chandigarh-based company would revamp the children’s park, the work would be done on the private public partnership (PPP) mode by UDEK whose presentation would be given in front of the Chief Secretary on July 10, he explained and added that till the time they would get it repaired so that children could enjoy the swings.

The Mayor further stated that they had asked the PWD to construct the walls of the park from Ashley Hall towards Parade Ground and the front wall would be done by the corporation.

He also urged the public to visit the park tomorrow afternoon for the shramdan in order to clean the park. “It is people’s park and they only can maintain the same and I will request all to come in large number and help in the development of the park,” Chamoli said.

When asked about the removal of encroachments, he said if the district administration and the police were committed and also the state government helped them no encroachment would be left in the city. Due to the political interference, they were not able to take any strict action, he held.

Dehradun, July 8
Following an investigation by the People for Animals (PFA), Uttarakhand, which has documented filthy conditions and widespread maltreatment of animals at the Himalaya Institute of Medical Sciences' (HIMS) Animal House Facility, Dehradun, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India, has written to Dr Vijay Dhasmana, Vice-Chancellor of Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust University, urging him to halt permanently use of animal at the facility.

It also told him to rehabilitate the animals who have undergone experiments and dismiss the dean, who was responsible for the laboratory's filthy conditions and illegal operations.

"It is imperative for the institution to show respect for the law and the animals it seeks. Rabbits, guinea pigs and mice now at HIMS should no longer suffer", says PETA India's science policy adviser Dr Chaitanya Koduri.

"The Dean must be dismissed from his position without delay, and HIMS needs to end all animal experiments permanently and rehabilitate the animals which have already suffered under his watch," he added.

Dehradun July 8
The Sikh Sewak Jatha will hold religious and social functions in Dehradun throughout the year to celebrate the golden jubilee foundation year of the organisation. Informing the media about the programmes to be held, president of the organisation Gulzar Singh said they would organise katha-kirtan from 5 am to 2.30 pm on Monday to celebrate Guru Gobind Singh’s Prakashotsav.

Kavi Sammelan on August 14 at Gurdwara Guru Singh Sabha Adat Bazar, a Shabad Gayan competition for children on September 18, a free of cost health camp on October 16, tree plantation in November, a blood donation camp in December, a writing competition and sports competitions will be held in January in the city.

Legal adviser Gurdip Singh Toni said their organisation had been apolitical from the very beginning and received respect from people of all sections and religions of the society. Their main aim had always been to serve people.

The members remembered the contributions of convener Uttam Singh who passed away recently.

Those present in the press conference were general secretary Seva Singh, vice-presidents Rajender Singh Raja, Surjit Singh Kohli, additional secretary Balvinder Singh, treasurers Satnam Singh and Gurdev Singh Sahni, advisers Jagninder Singh, Sohan Singh etc.

Dehradun, July 8
The 7th State/Agency Coordination Conference under the presidentship of Director General of Police Jyoti Swaroop Pandey was held today at Police Officers Mess in Kishanpur.

Other than police officers of Uttarakhand, police officers from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, the IB, the ITBP and the SSB also took part in the conference. The state DGP first welcomed all officers and shed light on the several problems, which the police of the different states could solve with mutual coordination.

He also said during the conference the inter-state criminals could be caught with the mutual coordination among states. He pointed out such criminals should be identified and action should be initiated against them.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Garhwal region) Deepam Seth during the conference gave a presentation on the forthcoming Kanwar Mela. Based on the presentation, several key points, including traffic, law & order, eve teasing, traffic violations and others were discussed with the officers. How to make coordination with different departments, including the Nagar Nigam, health, 108 and electricity, was also one of the key points of the discussion. Liquor smuggling, checking at border checkpost and the duties of special police officers were discussed too.

DIG (Special Task Force) Sanjay Gunjyal gave presentation on ‘Crime And Criminals’ of Uttarakhand and several such related issues were discussed with officers of other states who were present there.

Anil Raturi, IG (Intelligence), also gave a presentation on ‘Left Wing Extremist & Terrorist Threat to Uttarakhand’. The activities of terrorists, their hideouts, sources of incomes and associations were discussed at length with the officers present.

Meanwhile, Shyam Singh, IG (SSB), Ranikhet gave a presentation on ‘Policing & Security Issues Along Nepal Border’ and discussed the Nepal and China border related security issues later.

Dehradun, July 8
MLA Ganesh Joshi today staged a protest along with residents and shopkeepers of Hathi Barkala State that was demolished by a team of the District Administration as well as the Municipal Corporation (MC) on Thursday. The traffic was diverted to other routes as they blocked the road for the whole day. It was only in the evening when a team from the DMC along with the PWD visited the spot and ensured that justice would be done to them.

The team, under the guidance of SDM (Sadar) Manmohan Singh, yesterday demolished all encroachments in the market despite the fact that people kept on shouting that the land had been allotted to them by the MDDA, but none of the officials listened to them.

In the morning, two officials came to the spot but the talks failed and a meeting was held by the administration where the Home Secretary appointed the Commissioner of Gharwal as the investigating officer.

Later in the evening, the demonstrators said they would only open the jam when any senior official would visit and ensure them regarding the justice.

It was Sushil Kumar, Chief Executive Engineer, DMC, along with the City Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police GS Martoliya reached the spot and ensured the protesters that the demarcation of their land would be done. Talking to The Tribune, Kumar said they had demarcated the land, the report of which would be sent to the Commissioner who would then take the further action.

Dehradun, July 8
All-India Women Congress general secretary Manorama Sharma has objected to BJP leader Rajnath Singh given the responsibility of BJP election in charge for Uttarakhand, accusing him of having an anti-Uttarakhand mindset.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, Manorama, who is also a former Dehradun Mayor, said Rajnath had supported the then Muzaffarnagar District Magistrate Anant Kumar Singh, who was one of the officers considered to be the perpetrators of the Muzaffarnagar action against statehood strugglers in 1994.

“Anant Kumar Singh was responsible for ordering firing at statehood strugglers at Muzaffarnagar in 1994. In spite of all that, he continued to be in the list of Rajnath’s favourite officials,” Manorama alleged.

Manorama also accused the Uttarakhand BJP government of favouring non-government organisations belonging to the members of Rajnath’s family by providing them land at low rates.

Referring to the central assistance given to Uttarakhand to deal with the large-scale devastation during the monsoon last year, Manorama said the funds provided by the Centre were still to be spent fully by the state government. While the monsoon continues to wreak havoc on the hills, the state government is yet to take any preventive steps. She said it was wrong to blame the Centre for all the ills of Uttarakhand.

Dehradun, July 8
Scoring a brace each, Dipesh and Sagar scripted Khukri’s 4-1 triumph over Gorkha Rangers here today during the ongoing 60th Lala Nemi Dass Memorial District Football League.

It was an easy win for Khukri that maintained pressure right from the word go. The duo of Sagar (15th, 30th) and Dipesh (32nd, 50th) kept scoring goals time to time and became a pain for the rival team.

It’s defenders to put up a brave foot giving a stiff competition to the strikers of Gorkha Rangers who could score only a single goal. It was the goal of Mani (60th) that saved some blushes for the squad.

Whereas another match which came to be a very exciting affair later between Tapovan XI and Garhwal Boys ended on a 1-1 draw. The match would have ended on goalless draw. But late goal efforts of the players of the two teams changed it all.

Tapovan XI’s Amar (69th) and Abhishek (68th) of Garhwal Boys scored a goal each for their squads. The last minute (70th) of the game culminated in shouts and cheering from the crowd that was hoping for a goal.