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Doon Under Water
Rainwater harvesting only remedy for water shortage: Expert
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Rawat cries foul over nominations of Info Commissioners
Drive against power theft launched
Physiotherapy centre opened
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Doon Under Water
Dehradun, July 15
Thirtyfive-year-old Naseem Bano, wife of Faizan of Gandhi Gram, drowned in the Bindal river. Her body was found from the Lohia Nagar area. An 11-year-old girl, who was a resident of Bhud village, near Vikasnagar, drowned in the Haripur rivulet. Her body has not yet been recovered. The district administration has announced a relief of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of the kin of both deceased.
It was a deluge as the Meteorological Department recorded 93 mm of rainfall in the city. The rain started at 8:30 am and continued till 2:30 pm. A large number of low-lying areas were submerged while in certain colonies water entered houses and shops. Streets and roads turned into virtual rivers. Most of the rivers in the district were in spate. The embankment as well as the wire mesh constructed by the Municipal Corporation and the Irrigation Department on the banks of the Rispana river got damaged and water entered the houses located close to the river. The colonies where water entered houses included Rajesh Rawat Colony, Nai Basti, Chander Road, Mahatma Gandhi Basti, Nai Basti, Naimi Road, Puran Basti, Sanjay Colony, EC Road, Parsoli Wala Cantt Road, Indra Puram (Phase II), Jakhan, Doon Vihar Colony. Water also entered the basement of Vikas Bhavan near the Survey Chowk. A large number of vehicles, including two wheelers, broke down while crossing the flooded roads. The rain led to massive traffic jams. There was a massive waterlogging at Badrinath Colony. Babita Sahotra, municipal councillor of the area, said: “A team of the Municipal Corporation came to the colony in the evening and demolished one of the walls to make way for the stagnant water.” Criticising the administration as well as the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), Ashok Verma, Leader of the Opposition in the corporation, said they had been warning both bodies against the danger of flooding in the area for the past six years, but no action had been taken yet. Councillor Raj Kumar said the disaster management room, which had been set up by the corporation, was of no use to the residents as they did not have proper equipment. “No action could be taken by the team of two people. The phone that has been kept in the room is not working properly,” he maintained. An officer, who was on duty in the room, told The Tribune that they did not have any machine so that water could be taken out of waterlogged areas. They could just send the staff to get the drains cleaned in the affected areas. Kapil Mehta, who owns Pal Radios at New Market, was angry at the work going on at the MDDA complex-cum-parking lot that is behind his shop due to which water entered his shop. “We have asked the contractor on the site to ensure that the construction should not cause trouble to us but due to the material lying in open water entered in the shop. I think they are now doing some arrangements,” he stated and added, “I have lost the material worth Rs 25,000 today. Moreover, the front of my shop is yet to be constructed and mud collects due to the rain making it difficult for the passersby. When we ask the officials, they keep on ignoring by saying that they will be putting up tiles very soon.” Ditto for Sanjay Kalra of New Stlye. “This is the third time that water entered on our premises. The only difference is that earlier it was less water and now it was more than one foot. I lost the material worth Rs 80,000 due the rain,” he said.
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Rainwater harvesting only remedy for water shortage: Expert
Mussoorie, July 15 According to head of the Met Department Anand Sharma, the town on an average receives 2176 mm rainfall annually. If conserved and utilised, the drinking water problem of the town can be addressed effectively. The Mussoorie Jal Sansthan Executive Engineer said the town had about 5,000 registered water connections. Being a tourist town, the consumption increases during the peak season. It needs 14.42 million litres per day (MLD) creating a shortfall that is compensated through the limited public water supply capacity. “At present, only 30% hoteliers have adopted roof-top rain water harvesting and results are encouraging. The hoteliers store the rain- water for purposes other than drinking, easing the pressure on the government supply”, said PB Bhatt. He further stated that the town could attain the surplus water status provided maximum hotels, including households, practised roof-top rainwater harvesting. Vimal Sharma, Director, Yasin Fernery, said hotels which supplied water through tankers would also benefit economically with the help of roof-top rainwater harvesting. Apart from that, the perennial water could be utilised by residents of Rajpur, Gadi Cantt and other areas downstream. Mussoorie Hotel Association president RN Mathur claimed that a majority of hoteliers were in favour of roof-top rainwater harvesting but had not been able to adopt t due to the apathy of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA). He said instead of encouraging them, the MDDA refused permission to build the storage tank, citing construction ban in the town as main reason which was unfortunate. Executive Engineer, MDDA, Shyam Mohan Sharma, denied the allegations said on the contrary the department had made roof-top rainwater harvesting mandatory for all new houses of 1,200 sq ft. Experts believe that with the change in attitude and the concerted government effort, this method could prove a boon for the town leading to huge saving of potable drinking water and groundwater sources thus providing solace to the water-starved town.
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Rawat cries foul over nominations of Info Commissioners
Dehradun, July 15 A meeting of a three-member selection committee was held yesterday, where Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Cabinet minister Banshidhar Bhagat were also present. However Leader of the Opposition Harak Singh Rawat was conspicuous by his absence. According to sources, the nominations of Ajay Setia, a TV journalist, and Dilbag Singh, a retired bureaucrat, have been approved. They claimed that Setia’s candidature, who was being dubbed a “parachute candidate” by Rawat as he was not a resident of the state, has been recommended by a senior Central BJP leader with whom he had a very close relationship. However, crying foul and questioning the process of the nomination, Rawat has raised objections. He said he would take up the matter with the Governor. “The nominations were made arbitrarily as at the meeting of the committee, only two members were present. Moreover, it is a drain on the state exchequer. Four Information Commissioners are sufficient for a small state. What is the need to appoint more?” he questioned. Significantly, the RTI Act states that the selection procedure has to be made by a three-member committee. But the Act is silent on the issue of the validity of the appointment made in the absence of one or more members of the committee, leaving enough room for the appointment to be challenged in the court of law. Notwithstanding the objection by the Leader of the Opposition, once their appointment is approved by the Governor, the state government is set to spend a considerable amount on their salaries and perks, amounting to around Rs 70 lakh per month (individually) exclusive of the perks. They will also be entitled for a government accommodation, a car, and an office. The government spends around Rs 2.50 lakh per month and Rs 1.25 lakh per month towards the expenditure of the Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner, respectively. While it is the prerogative of the government to appoint Information Commissioners, Chief Information Commissioner NS Napalchayal has indirectly made his views on the issue by urging the government to focus on opening regional offices in Srinagar and Almora for hearing appeals under the RTI Act so that people living in far-flung areas are not forced to come down to the capital.
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Drive against power theft launched
Dehradun, July 15 A penalty of Rs 1,86, 288 has been imposed on Amarnath of Haridwar. Ramesh Arora and M Sharma of Subhash Nagar, who had installed new connections last month only, had also tampered with there meters and a penalty of Rs 2,767 and Rs 1,924, respectively, could be imposed on them. Rishipal Kishan Dutt of Sitapur Harilok village, and RD Kapoor of Navalkunj, were also found indulged in electricity theft.
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Physiotherapy centre opened
Dehradun, July 15 Dr Rakesh Mamgain, a renowned doctor from Dehradun, inaugurated the centre. While welcoming the chief guest, Prof AK Sharma, Director of the institute, said: “The aim of the institute is to provide its students with the best of technical education in physiotherapy.
The students would surely benefit from the guidance by experienced doctors in laboratory work as well as in hospital management. Dr Mamgain suggested that with the tie-up with Ananda Hospital, the institute might also consider the option of adding the BSc (Nursing) course to their curriculum.
— TNS
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Bajrang Club, Doon Star victorious
Dehradun, July 15 In the first match, Bajrang Club defeated DMK Club by 2-1. Anuj opened the account by scoring the first goal in the 35th minute. Ajay scored the second goal in the 44th minute. Also DMK Club gave a hard fight to the opposite team but could not succeed. It was only later in the game that Pranay of the DMK Club scored a goal in the 54 minute. In the second match, Doon Star defeated Shivalik 6-3. The players of Doon Star scored the first goal in the 30th minute through Abhay who again made a goal in the 44th minute. In the 39th minute Rajesh Chauhan scored a goal followed by Lokesh, Heer Singh and D Thapa in the 55 minute, 65th minute and 67th minute, respectively. It was Sushil Rawat of Shivalik Club who scored all three goals for the team in the 9th, 58th and 63rd minute.
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