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CCTV cameras at sensitive points on the blink
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Gorkha Bhawan to come up in city
School does its bit for environment conservation
Doc sets himself afire, sustains 99 pc burns
BJP out to unite three factional leaders
Adhoiwala Boys beat Gorkha Rangers
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CCTV cameras at sensitive points on the blink
Dehradun, July 17 According to the officials of the Dehradun Police Radio Department, a total of 13 CCTV cameras have been put up at different junctions of the state capital. However, at least four cameras, which have been installed in sensitive areas are out of order. The camera, which was installed at the crowded Paltan Bazar near the Clock Tower, is undergoing repairs. The CCTV camera put up at the Ballupur junction, the main approach road to Dehradun, and the one installed at the main junction of the city, Survey Chowk, also also non-functional. This has put a question mark over the preparedness of the state capital police for any terrorist strike. Dehradun has always been vulnerable to terrorist attacks for several national institutions, including the Forest Research Institute of India and Indian Military Academy, are situated here. The security in the state gains more importance for its religious places and Uttarakhand being a tourism hub. Police personnel said the CCTV cameras helped them in a big way but they cannot help technical problems. “Three or four cameras are not working due to technical problems and have been sent to Canada for repairs,” Assistant Radio Operator Jasbir Singh told The Tribune. He said with the help of the cameras they challan traffic violators and get to know how much load of traffic is there at different junctions.
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Help should reach in 45 minutes: Admn
Sonika Bhatia Tribune News Service
Dehradun, July 17 To give immediate relief to the residents of such localities, a control room has been set up jointly by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), Irrigation Department and the Jal Sansthan. The contractors relating to these departments would be provided with pipes and pumps. They have been asked to pump out water to a spot away from an affected area. The administration has told them that they need to reach the spot along with the equipment within 45 minutes of inundation. The District Magistrate has also said anyone can call up the control room or his camp office at 0135-2659975. Uniyal stated that they would start the service very soon. “This would be quite helpful for the people living in the low-lying areas and where drains remain chocked and it is not possible to clean these regularly,” he added. Meanwhile, Rajkumar, a councillor of the DMC, said the control room was a failure. “I have called up the control room two days ago when the heavy showers hit my ward but I failed to get a satisfactory reply. Either the telephone was not working properly or they did not have the proper equipment to pump out the rainwater,” he maintained.
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Gorkha Bhawan to come up in city
Dehradun July 17 Bahuguna, who was attending the annual meeting of the Uttrakahnd Congress Committee, Gorkha Cell, also congratulated the members of the committee for obtaining the Other Backward Class (OBC) status by the Central Government. He also thanked Sonia Gandhi for her support to the Gorkha community and urged the people to keep continuing working for the party. Also present on the occasion were Ashok Verma, municipal councillor, Lal Chand Sharma, former president, Mahanagar Congress Committee, and Jot Singh Gunsola, MLA, Mussoorie.
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School does its bit for environment conservation
Haridwar, July 17 A government school situated at Bahadurpur Saini village in Haridwar district has taken a step in this regard. Schoolteachers on a regular basis teach students environment-related topics, ask them to compile newspaper clippings, hold debates and even encourage students to plant saplings. The best performing students are awarded. Assisting the school in its effort on environment conservation is Sterlite Technologies, which has not only donated books and uniforms to meritorious students but also roped in experts to help improve health facilities in the hilly districts of the state. The Indian Red Cross Society too has come forward to help set up health facilities in the hilly regions as well as generate environmental awareness by jointly organising health camps for the hill people. Talking to The Tribune, Manish Mantri, plant head of Sterlite Technologies, said they had been organising various camps in Haridwar where plantation is done by students. The members the students’ families are also involved in the plantation drive. Attending an environment awareness camp as chief guest here today, Sanjana Sundaram, wife of Haridwar District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram, said the administration would be helping in the noble social causes initiated by the school and the company and such efforts were needed to be taken at mass scale to ensure the preservation of ecology. “We are taking everyone along, be it school students, teachers, NGOs, health activists, anganwari activists, retired army personnel, in making sure that health and environment-related messages reach the maximum number of people,” said Naresh Chaudhari, an activist.
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Doc sets himself afire, sustains 99 pc burns
Mussoorie, July 17 According to the police, Dr Pradeep Bakshi (43) locked himself in his house and set himself afire at 11 am. After seeing smoke coming out of his house, the neighbours raised the alarm and called up the EMRI ambulance service, which immediately rushed him to a local hospital. However, seeing his critical condition, doctors referred him to Dehradun for further treatment. Dr Joshi is a lecturer in a medical college in Muzaffarnagar and had come to Mussoorie to visit his mother three days ago. He is suffering from depression.
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‘It’s not the state we struggled for’
Dehradun, July 17 Rajinder Todriya, secretary of the organisation, said if the rift between the public and the state continued to get wider because of corruption then a situation like Salwa Judum and Maoist violence in Chattisgarh could emerge in Uttarakhand too. A firebrand student leader, Pradeep, from Doon University highlighted a lack of employment opportunities in the state. He said: “Why people struggled to form Uttarakhand when its youth was to struggle for jobs. People continued to migrate from the hills and the Chief Minister decline to answer students’ query as to why he has been unable to decide on the permanent capital of the state for the past 10 years. He seemed more inclined to inaugurating the schemes which do not bring any results on the ground.” Kesar Singh, a prominent journalist from Mumbai, said it was pity that people of the city did not consider themselves as people from the hills. He stressed the need to strengthen the cultural base of the state to make it a well-known place among the people of the rest of the country. Pushpa Dobhal, president of the women cell of the host organisation, with a heavy heart, said she was not happy with the formation of Uttarakhand, because this was not the state they had fought for. She called for unified efforts to remove corruption from the state. Poet Narender Singh Negi and Atul Sharma received thunderous applause for their evocative poems and songs reminding of the gradual decline of development in the state and need to launch another struggle to reshape Uttarakhand into an ideal state. Brig Surender Patwal (retd) threw light on the lack of compatibility among politicians and bureaucrats, saying the things had deteriorated for the delayed decision-making. He stressed the need to start small movements on the lines of the one launched by socialite Anna Hazare and urged the gathering to elect their leaders wisely. Economist from Himachal Pradesh NS Bisht rightly delineated the difference between HP and Uttarakhand, saying that despite the similarities in the topography and resources of both the states, Uttarakhand could not utilise the funds given by the Centre and its own ministers and bureaucrats did not visit the interior hill regions, which cry for development.
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Residents of Tilak Road displeased with area councillor
They said works were being carried out only in the area where the councillor lived. Moreover, he was not even aware of the localities that came under the ward. However, Kohli said: “I have spent Rs 40 lakh on various works. Proposals with an estimated cost of Rs 25 lakh have been submitted to the corporation.” Residents complained that due to the absence of traffic lights, road accidents occurred frequently. Rajesh Kumar, a local resident, said: “During rain, water get stagnated in the area and also enter houses. Drains remain choked. Neither the councillor nor safai karamcharis visit the area.” He further added that there were no streetlights at the chowk near his shop and accidents occurred frequently. Another resident, Vikas Sareen, said: “The owners of dairies situated near my locality throw all waste in nearby drains resulting in there blockage. It has become difficult for us to live in unhygienic conditions. The problem of traffic jams further adds to our woes.” However Gurpal Singh, another resident, was all praise for the councillor. He maintained that: “Our councillor is helpful and committed to the development of the area. He has executed many works. Whenever, we face any problem, we approach him and he tries to solve it at the earliest. Gurudyal Singh said: “Most of the problems being faced by residents have been solved by the councillor.” “He is sensitive to people’s needs,” he added.
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BJP out to unite three factional leaders
But, probably, the party high command that had launched an offensive against the Congress on corruption in the 2G-spectrum scandal and the Commonwealth Games, did not want to embarrass itself by having a change of guard in Uttarakhand on the issue of corruption. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank managed to placate senior central party leaders and saved his chair. But the party central leadership knowing fully well that Khanduri and Koshiyari, both party stalwarts in Garhwal and Kumoan regions and indispensable for the polls, announced that all three leaders namely Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Khanduri and Koshiyari would jointly lead the election campaign. This has not amused both former Chief Ministers who remained unenthusiastic. There were media reports that Khanduri was even contemplating forming a regional political party but these were stoutly denied by him. The party central leadership, in another move to placate both Khanduri and Koshiyari, has decided to give some more important portfolios to their supporters in the ministry. It was believed that Nishank had been instructed to shed some of his portfolios and distribute it to his ministers, many of whom were cribbing about too much centralisation of powers in the hands of the Chief Minister. Rumours are also rife that the BJP in a bid to accommodate more legislators as ministers could even ditch Diwakar Bhatt, the sole minister from its ally Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). The UKD, a regional political outfit, is already split into two factions on the issue of support to the BJP government. It remained to be seen that before the assembly polls, how much the Chief Minister will be willing to share with his party colleagues. Infighting hits Cong too
The situation is even worse in the faction-ridden Congress that is eyeing the next assembly polls to bounce back to power. State Congress leaders were hoping that one more leader would be inducted into the Union Council of Ministers keeping an eye on the assembly polls but they were disappointed as only Harish Rawat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing got an additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs in the recent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers. The factional fights between the Harish Rawat camp and those owing allegiance to state party Chief Yashpal Arya came to the fore during the visit of party observers to all 13 districts of the state to gauge the preparedness of the party for the polls. These meetings turned out to be a show of strength by the prospective candidates for assembly tickets between rival factions. The “Satyagraha yatra”, started by Yashpal Arya against the alleged failure of the state BJP government, was shunned by the leaders and workers of the Harish Rawat camp. The appointment of Birendra Singh, a senior Congress leader and in charge general secretary of Uttarakhand has completely failed to check the growing factionalism in the state unit. The party high command has failed to even announce the executive committee of the state unit despite the fact that Yashpal Arya was re-appointed as the state Congress Chief last year. The pulls and pressures of each faction to accommodate their favorites in the new team has delayed the announcement of the executive committee. Most of the senior Congress leaders argue that the executive committee would be announced soon. This has resulted in disjointed efforts by the state Congress leaders to take on the state BJP government in an effective manner. On the other hand, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank fully, aware of the fault lines in the Congress, has started an effective campaign to reach out to the people in the remote and far-flung areas. He has already covered more than 40 assembly segments during his tour to interact and listen to the grievances of the common people. Congress leaders hoped that before the assembly elections, all factions would close their ranks to put up a joint fight against the ruling BJP. (By SMA Kazmi)
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Udham Singh Nagar claims overall athletics c’ship
Dehradun, July 17 While Maharana Pratap Sports College won the overall trophy in the boys section by getting 12 gold medal and Rudraprayag Hostel got 11 gold medals to bag the overall trophy in girls category in the two-day meet. In the state-level competition, a total 240 boys and 110 girls of 16 different teams took part. Various athletics competitions, including 5000m, 3000m, 800m, and 100m races, high jump, shot put and others were held during the two-day competition. Meanwhile, Jaspal Singh Negi, vice-president of the Sports Council of the Uttarakhand government was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony. Director, Sports, UC Kabarwal, Principal of the sports college SC Negi and others were also present.
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Adhoiwala Boys beat Gorkha Rangers
Dehradun, July 17 Dharam Singh and Gajender scored in the win. Mighty Uttarakhand Police continued its splendid run in the league outclassing XI Star 6-1. Narender (23rd, 65th) and Ashok (60th, 67th) scored a brace each in the triumph. Cunchuk of XI Star netted a self-goal in the 58th minute to add to the misery of his squad. Dhanvir (69th) of the police team scored the last goal for his side. — TNS
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The CCTV cameras may have provided vital leads in the Mumbai serial blasts case but, God forbids, if something of this sort happens in the state capital, the cops might have to cut a sorry figure for the CCTV cameras installed at the sensitive places are non-functional. Even the cameras, which are working, can’t capture the pictures of distant objects clearly.
Dehradun, July 17
THE coming assembly elections have led to the heightened political activity in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) as well as the opposition Congress. The central party leaderships of both these national parties are trying to ward off intense factionalism prevailing in their state units to prepare themselves for the electoral battle ahead.
Adhoiwala Boys edged past Gorkha Rangers 3-2 in the 60th Lala Nemi Dass Memorial District Football League here on Sunday. Vijay Pal (20th minute), Amar (24th) and Mohit (42nd) scored for the winning team. Gorkha Rangers scored two goals through Shiva (27th) and Kuldeep (29th).
