Dehradun August 3
The Uttarakhand Khadi and Gramudyog Board (UKGB) has tightened its procedure for loans to enterpreuners for its intra-subsidiary scheme.

It now no longer approves loan amount on the basis of application forms but rather tests the genuineness and aptitude of the aspirants through interviews which are held by a committee set up by the state government.

A loan amount up to Rs 2 lakh is given to the unemployed youth living in the rural belt under this scheme to set up either the cottage industry or their own small ventures at the district level by the state government, which contributes 4 per cent of the interest amount.

A committee headed by the CEO, UKGB, the Lead Development Manager of the bank sanctioning loan, the District Magistrate’s nominee and a District Village Industries Officer (DVIO), conducts the interview of the aspirants before holding them eligible for the loan. The loan is sanctioned within one-and-a-half month of the interview.

The chairman of this committee, Chief Executive Officer, UKGB, AK Khanduri said, the changes were made in the loan process after finding a lot of discrepancies on the part of the entrepreneurs who utilised the loan money for some other purpose or in their old business.

With the condition of interview, he said, they were able to see through the candidates from different perspectives to ensure their righteousness in the matter. The committee members could question the aspirant regarding the enterprise he wants to establish. In case he knew about the trade, he would answer correctly, which established his dexterity over the trade. Then they could also cross-check his genuineness through documents and also through site visit, then loan was sanctioned.

On the issue of interest-based subsidy, Khanduri said, “This system is evolved to keep the entrepreneur engaged in his venture for five years at a stretch. With subsidy on interest, he will have to pay small installments as well. The monitoring committee too keeps reviewing the progress of each case through its observers. In case, the entrepreneur sustains it for five years, then it is for sure that he will handle it well in future as well.”

The UKGB is conducting the interviews of the contenders at its head office in Dehradun these days. Vinod Kumar, auto mechanic, who cleared the interview, said, “I want to open a tailoring shop, as my wife and I both know stitching and embroidery work. Till now, we had been working for others. With the loan amount, I will be able to open my own shop and earn better income.” Rukma Devi was not lucky as the panel was not satisfied with her answers. She failed to anwer correctly on the size of the scissor used for cutting the clothes.

Haridwar, August 3
The death of two members of a family of Baditeep village, Sultanpur, in Haridwar this week is still a mystery for the Health Department. The other family members are also suffering from some allergy. Despite several tests of the family members, the disease hasn’t been identified.

Earlier, it was presumed that it was dropsy but later doctors said that probably it was dengue, but the subsequent tests didn’t pointed to any of the two diseases.

A highly specialised team from the PGI, Chandigarh, arrived today to take stock of the situation. Members of the team met the family members, villagers and took various samples.

While a team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) is expected to arrive by tomorrow citing the sensitivity of the matter.

A team of specialised doctors and medical staff is camping under the supervision of the Medical Superintendent of Lakshar tehsil at Baditeep. A state surveillance team from Dehradun and a medical team from Jollygrant Himalayan Hospital is also carrying out medical tests of not only the family members but also of the villagers to detect the cause of the mysterious disease.

Two members of the affected family have been admitted to Jollygrant for intensive diagnosis, the report of which are awaited.

Dr Reshma Kaushik said the surveillance medical team had also taken an entomological survey of the house and nearby area of the affected family.

Chief Medical Officer, Haridwar, Dr Yogesh Sharma, said they were trying to detect the cause of the disease and hoped that with the help from expertise of medical teams from the PGI and the NICD, New Delhi, the exact cause of the mysterious death of the two members could be known.

Dehradun, August 3
In order to provide better health services and an insurance cover to its safai karamcharis, the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) would soon launch a group insurance scheme for them and hold health camps every month. The corporation is in talks with various insurance companies in this regard.

Talking to The Tribune, Chief Executive Officer Sushil Kumar said: “We have asked a few insurance companies to provide us the details of their group insurance schemes for employees. Other than this, we will be organising health camps for the safai karamcharis every month”.

When asked that in the past many of the corporation employees have died due to one or the other reason and what facilities they are providing to them so that they could stay healthy despite the fact they have to work in filthy conditions, Kumar said: “We have already provided the safai karamcharis with gum boots, gloves and rain coats. But, they don’t wear these gear and thus catch various diseases. They need to take precautions only then will they remain healthy”.

Senior health officer Kailash Joshi said a group insurance scheme for the safai karamcharis is in the pipeline but the employees too needed to take care of themselves.

Dehradun, August 3
A nonconformist who has managed to create his own idiom in the world of theatre and Padma Shri recipient H Kanhailal continues to be guided by the stirrings of his people back home in Manipur.

“I am comfortable with the present status of Manipur that is a part of the Indian union. But I think the highhandedness of the Indian Government is responsible for the deep-rooted anger among the citizens of Manipur often finding expression on the streets in the form of protests. Among ethnic minorities, a fear lies underneath of being swamped by the majority and powerful culture,” said Kanhailal.

His plays, “Pebet” (meaning bird in Manipuri) first staged in 1975 and “Memoirs of Africa” staged in 1995 have been inspired by human beings’ response to the crisis of identity.

Founder of Kalashetra, he has held afloat the theatre movement in Manipur that often provides a balm to the youth in politically troubled times. It is this ability to bring in local content while keeping one eye intact on the present that has helped Kanhailal carve a distinct identity for himself, though faced with multitude of different experiments in theatre.

“When I stepped into theatre, my art in the early stages was guided by intuition and natural instinct. It was only later that a system for my kind of theatre was built, which could be passed on to the younger generation. Theatre, when left to academics, can only appeal to a section of the people, but when created for the people by the people, rest assured it has a long life,” said the unassuming director while speaking with The Tribune.

On the last day of the theatre festival, he would be staging “Dakghar” that pays tributes to Rabindranath Tagore. “My wife Savitri who is an actress on her own right would be playing the role of a 10-year-old boy. In my opinion, actor is supreme, as through the sheer power of his acting, he manages to stir the consciousness of the people radically altering their thought process. The constant search for aestheticism is achieved when an inner dialogue is created between the actor and the audience. In my case, I took to acting initially but soon realised it was not my cup of tea. I am quite comfortable in the role of a director and playwright.” said Kanhailal.

Ever an iconoclast, Kanhailal abhors mechanical representation in theatre and feels that the National School of Drama should be wary of mechanised representation of theatre. “What we are getting now is a mixture of a lot of forms that hardly appeals the five senses. The effect does not last for long. It fades away the moment you step out of the theatre hall,” he added.

Dehradun, August 3
The office-bearers of the Provincial Doctors’ Association called on Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank to thank him for getting the proposed security Bill for the doctors passed by the Cabinet here today.

The Chief Minister, speaking to the doctors, said the state government was sensitive towards ensuring their security. He also appealed to the doctors that they should perform their duties with dedication in order to provide better medical facilities to the public.

He said the state government had launched many schemes providing better medical facilities to the people of the state and they should avail themselves of the benefits of these schemes. He also said state-of-the-art equipment had been installed in the hospitals and mobile hospitals were also being run in the state.

President of the association SD Joshi, general secretary DP Joshi and other office-bearers of the association were present during the meeting.

HARIDWAR: A special meeting was held by the medical fraternity here to thank the state government. Dr Sanjay Shah, secretary of the Indian Medical Association, said the security Act would shield the doctors from the unruly behaviour of the attendants of patients in government and private hospitals and now they could carry out their task fearlessly, which would be to the benefit of patients.

Chief Medical Officer Yogesh Sharma also expressed happiness over approval to the Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property Bill, terming it a landmark decision which will pave way for a safer environment for the medical staff.

The efforts made by the IMA state chief, Dr (Major) Nand Kishore, Dr DD Chaudhari and the other medical staff of the state in making sure that concerns of the medical fraternity were brought to the notice of the government were also acknowledged.

Those who addressed the meeting were Dr Vipin Mehra, Dr DN Taneja, Dr Prem Luthra, Dr OP Verma, Dr Jaspreet Verma, Dr K Swaroop, Dr Dinesh Singh and Dr Rajesh Gupta.

Dehradun, August 3
Shashank Mamgain of Sunderwala Boys scored all five goals to humble their rival, Hostel Boys, during the district football league being played on the Pavilion ground here today.

Mamgain scored in the 25th, 43rd, 60th, 63rd and 68th minutes. The rival team failed in its attempts to score any goal.

Earlier, in the first match, Chandramani beat Doon United 3-1. Shiva (30th, 60th) were the scorers for the winning team. Doon United got a one breather during the match when Varun (36rd) scored its lone goal. Tomorrow, Doon Valley will face City Young at 4pm. After the match, a meeting of the district football league will be held to chalk out a plan for a super league that will start from August 7.

Dehradun, August 3
Doon Valley School defeated Summer Valley School 4-1 in the 27th Carbery Memorial Inter-school Sub-junior Football Tournament being organised by Carman School, Dalanwala, in Dehradun.

Archit and Aniket scored two goals each while Harshman scored a goal in the win of Doon Valley. In another match, St Joseph’s Academy also registered win over Grace Academy 4-1.

The Asian School beat Sambota Tibetan School by 3-0. All goals were scored by Pratham Kumar. St Georges, Mussoorie, got the better of Oak Grove School, Mussoorie 3-2.

Dehradun, August 3
The Vaish Ladies Club celebrated Teej with zeal here today. A competition on the theme, “Tu tu mein mein” was also organised in which members of the club presented fights between members of a family and their servants. Abha Jain and Swati Garg were declared “Takrare Mallika” while Shikha Aggarwal and Chitra Aggarwal were declared “Takrare Noor”.

Ila Panjmani, Pooja Aggarwal and Dimpi Kohli were the judges.