Dehradun, July 22
The stairs at the Pavilion ground located near Lansdowne Chowk, which were reconstructed on July 15 after The Tribune highlighted their collapse due to rain, again gave way during Thursday’s showers.

It was reported in the news item that the use of poor quality material led to the collapse of the stairs within a few days of construction. Officials had cited loosened mud as the reason for the collapse of the stairs, claiming that mud needed at least one season to settle down.

Yesterday Sports Minister Khajan Das, along with Mayor Vinod Chamoli, MLA Ganesh Joshi, Mulayam Singh (Executive Engineer, PWD) and other officials, visited the spot. The minister asked the officials to take strict action against the erring persons and also told the authorities concerned to suspend the Assistant Engineer and the Junior Engineer. However, no action had been taken against both the officials till the filing of this report.

Lalit Mohan, Chief Executive Engineer, Gharwal Mandal, PWD, also visited the spot today. He told the officials concerned to send samples of the material used in the construction of the stairs to a laboratory in Roorkee. He said the stairs would be reconstructed soon.

Chamoli scolded the officials connected with the construction of the stairs. The Municipal Corporation is one of the managing agencies for the ongoing works under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission in the city.

Sources said crores of rupees released for JNNURM works seemed to have been wasted as constructions done in the past were in poor shape. Most of the roads are damaged.

Dehrdun, July 22
Chairman of the Tanzeem-e-Rahnumae Millet Latafat Hussain today submitted a memorandum to the Governor in the context of the alleged gross wrongdoings committed by the chairman of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board, Rao Sharafat Ali. Hussain has demanded Ali’s removal and a magisterial inquiry into the decisions he implemented in his capacity and the cancellation of all the committees floated by him.

Hussain alleged that Ali and the Chief Executive Officer of the Wakf Board, Sher Ali, had been violating the norms of the Wakf Act and disposing of prime Wakf properties in an illegal manner.

Exposing the recalcitrant attitude of the Wakf Board chairman, Hussain said: “Rao Sharafat Ali tried to wrest power under Article 32 at the Board meeting held on April 13 but when the members resisted, he managed to get approval in the garb of taking legal opinion on the matter. At the succeeding meeting on July 12, he became successful in his gambit by passing the same resolution while garnering a majority of 7:0 in a fraudulent manner”.

According to Hussain, the first thing which Rao Sharafat Ali did after grabbing absolute power was to hand over the charge of the Wakf 55 mosque situated near Doon Hospital to Manjoor Kabadi, against whom dues of Rs 65 lakh relating to the same mosque were pending and a legal case was registered in the revenue court. “Without giving any chance to the respected people of the community in the city or inviting objections and subsequent hearings on the selected person, Rao Sharafat Ali hurriedly finalised his decision on Wakf 55 mosque in favour of a man who had a tainted record. This has caused a great deal of anger among the members of the Muslim community,” he said.

Hussain also cast doubt on the intention of Rao Sharafat Ali in disposing of more precious properties or shrines under the Wakf Board in a clandestine manner. He said, Rao Sharafat

Ali reinstated another ill-reputed man as the caretaker of the 10-B Lakhi Bagh property despite a directive of the High Court against him.

He has demanded immediate removal of Rao Sharafat Ali from his position and an inquiry into the deals struck by him.

Dehradun, July 22
Day one of the admission process at DAV (PG) College here witnessed great enthusiasm among admission seekers today. A large number of students from Dehradun as well as from other districts of the state thronged the college to purchase the prospectus.

The admission forms for undergraduate courses will be sold from Monday.Admission to postgraduate courses will begin only after the university releases the marksheets of third-year students. 

He said the counters were proposed to be set up at Karanprayag, Gwaldham and Kedarnath. — TNS

Pithoragarh, July 22
Expressing dissatisfaction at the arrangements being made by the Champawat administration to prevent animal sacrifice during the Devi Dhura fair beginning from August 13, the People for Animals (Uttarakhand chapter) has decided to lodge a complaint against those who will facilitate animal sacrifice during the fair.

Gauri Maulekhi, convener of the People for Animal, said instead of imposing a ban on animal sacrifice during the fair, the administration was contemplating allowing the same in the name of tradition. “If the administration gives permission to sacrifice animals during the fair, it will be against the High Court’s order that is against animal sacrifice in the name of faith at religious places,” Maulekhi added.

“The administration, which is being supported by members of the local Uttarakhand Animal Welfare Board, is of the view that one asthbali (sacrificing eight animal at a time) be allowed, which is against the court’s orders. If the Temple Committee and the administration is adamant on the issue, they should get licence under the Slaughter Act, 2001, and declare Devi Dhura temple a slaughter house,” said Maulekhi.

Dehradun, July 22
The Plan India and the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) organised a workshop for the municipal representatives on “Capacity building on the issue of improved governance” as part of the Health for Urban Poor (HUP) programme here today.

The workshop was chaired by Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli. He inaugurated the workshop by lighting the traditional lamp. It was followed by a welcome address by Dr Bharti Dangwal, Project Director, HUP, who gave a brief presentation on the programme. She talked about the condition of the urban poor in the country.

Chamoli shed light on growing urbanisation in the state and increasing pressure on quality basic services. He said the state was making a progress on the water and sanitation fronts and the corporation was already working in the direction of decentralising sewage treatment. Chamoli stated that 85 per cent part of the city would be provided with sewerage and the remaining part would have a proper sanitation system as discussed at the workshop.

Merajuddin Ahmad, water and sanitation specialist, spoke on “Urban Water and Sanitation: issues and challenges”. He laid emphasis on improving the status of health determinants like water and sanitation. Ahmad also discussed about the ongoing schemes and intervention required in the area of water and sanitation to improve the health status of the urban poor and achieving the targets regarding environmental sustainability.

Dr VS Tolia, Deputy CMO, Dehradun, made a presentation on Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) and its salient features. He said the scheme at present targets the rural BPL population and soon it will be launched for the urban population. “The Department of Health and the Municipal Corporation are working to formulate the modalities for launching the scheme in urban areas,” Tolia added.

Susheel Sharma, Chief Executive Engineer, DMC, gave a brief presentation on “Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Project Appraisal in Urban Infrastructure”. He talked about the latest e-Governance initiative like web site development; e-tender, online grievance redress system, decentralised death and birth registration and GIS-based property tax, etc.

Ravi Pandey, Executive Engineer, DMC, presented an update on the initiative taken by the corporation to implement the Solid Waste Management scheme in Dehradun city. He also informed the audience about the beginning of a door-to-door collection of garbage programme in 15 wards of the city.

Ashok Verma, Leader of the Opposition in the DMC, emphasised realistic implementation of ideas so that meaningful changes could be made.

Dehradun, July 22
Opposing the alleged illegal construction of a mosque and a madarsa at Banjarawala Chowk, the residents of that area staged a demonstration at the District Magistrate’s office here today.

The protesters also handed a memorandum to the District Magistrate appealing him to stop the construction as it is being done without the permission of the administration.

The protesters are against the construction of the two buildings as the site where these are being raised is situated near a pole of high-tension wires.

They have alleged that the construction of the mosque and the madarsa is being done by an outsider.

However, the residents have appealed to the administration to order a probe into the matter. They also submitted the copies of the memorandum to the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority, Managing Director of the Urja Bhawan and the Superintendent of Police, Dehradun.

Dehradun, July 22
To welcome a new batch, the SGRR Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, organised a freshers’ party today. The function began with the lighting of a ceremonial lamp by the Principal of the Institute, Dr SK Ghildiyal.

Welcoming the new batch of students, Ghildiyal urged them to abide by all rules and regulations. 

Dehradun, July 22
The District Sports Authority, Dehradun, conducted a district-level judo championship for girls here today.

The following are the results:

20 kg: Akanksha (DAV) defeated Deepti and won the third position.

25 kg: Varnika (DAV) defeated Akriti and bagged the third position.

30 kg: Seel (DAV) defeated Utkarshni and secured the third position.

35 kg: Mansi (DAV) defeated Vaishali and bagged the third position.

40 kg: Reenu defeated Aashika and bagged the third position.

45 kg: Shobha defeated Shivangi and bagged the third position.

50 kg: Mamta defeated Isha and won the third position

55 kg: Shivangi (DAV) bagged the third position.

60 kg: Pinky bagged the third position

The finals of the competition will be held on 
Sunday.

Dehradun, July 22
Írked over the construction works done by the PWD under JNNURM schemes, Congress councillors today met Dehradun District Magistrate Sachin Kurve and submitted a memorandum to him.

Leader of the opposition Ashok Verma and other councillors said the construction works done by the PWD were not up to the mark. A road that was constructed at Lansdowne Chowk a few months ago was in poor condition.

Verma said this was a serious matter and needed an investigation as the money used in these works belonged to the common man. He further said roads that were dug to lay payjal lines had not been repaired so far, thus causing inconvenience to residents.

He said though they had complained to the department concerned, no action had been taken .

Councillor Raj Kumar, Anand Tyagi, Anup Kapoor, Sanjay Gupta, Abdul Aziz, Subodhini Sharma, Nisha Rana, Rama Gaud, Jagdish Dhiman and Dr Rajinder Pal were also present.

Dehradun , July 22
Both matches in the Lala Nemi Dass Memorial District Football League played at the Pavilion grounds ended in goalless draws.

The first match between Thakurpur XI and Doon Eagles was a keenly contested one where both teams mounted attacks but could not find any opening till the final whistle. The match was drawn.

The second match between fancied Uttarakhand Police and Cantt. Blues was even more interesting. Uttarakhand Police, one of the best teams in the state, attacked Cantt. Blue but without success. The Uttarakhand Police boys could not come up to the expectations of the spectators as Cantt. Blue put up a tough fight. The match ended in a goalless draw.