Trust provides aid to two poor students
Mussoorie, August 6
The Divine Light Trust, an organisation that help underprivileged section of society, has helped two such students by providing them with financial assistance through a flagship programme, Swami Vivekanand Scholarship for Education.

Local bodies’ staff on strike from Aug 16
Mussoorie, August 6
Local bodies’ employees under the banner of the Uttaranchal Swachkaar Karamchari Sangh and the Nikaya Karamchari Mahasangh have called an indefinite strike from August 16 over the pending demands in the state.

Dehradun, August 6
Out of a total of five X-ray machines available with the radiology department of the District Doon Hospital, only two are functional.

To ease the burden, two machines were installed at different places, one near the Trauma Centre and the other at the diagnostic centre. However, both have been non-functional for the past few years. The X-ray machine at the Trauma Centre was set up to take care of accidental cases, but sources said it had been lying idle and the authorities were thinking to auction it off. Another machine that is lying idle at the main radiology department and another at the Regional Diagnostic Centre need immediate repairs, but financial constraints are proving to be a big hindrance for the department.

“Every day, there is a huge rush at the department. I have been coming here for the past two days to get the X-ray of my son done. But after seeing the rush, I decided to go to a private diagnostic centre,” said Raj Kumari, the attendant of a patient.

The department prepares 200 X-ray reports on a daily basis. Sources said the department was also facing a manpower shortage. Taking under consideration the workload, there is a requirement of a total of nine technicians, but the department has just three who share the work of developing films and attending to the patients.

“We are facing a manpower shortage. Machines are also limited. All these things require a long-term solution. We need a huge investment to set things in order. The digital X-ray machine has become functional, but I do not know for how long we will be able to carry on,” said Dr BC Pathak, Chief Medical Superintendent, Doon Hospital.

Dehradun, August 6
Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli today said they would complete the ongoing projects under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as soon as possible once the monsoon was over.

While convening a town-level committee meeting with officials from the ADB, the MDDA and the administration, Mayor asked them to ensure that work was completed within no time once the rains ended.

“Owing to the ongoing projects related to laying of sewer line and water pipe, roads have been excavated all over the city due to which the people here are facing difficulties. The ADB will be providing a copy of the sewerage plan to the Municipal Corporation, the MDDA, the PWD and the CDO so that in future, roads are not hollowed out. We will see that first the pipes are laid all over the city and then roads are being constructed,” he stated.

Other than this, Chamoli affirmed that the ADB would help the MC on reforms of double entry accounting system. “In order to strengthen the working of the corporation, the ADB will provide training to four of our employees,” he said. 

Dehradun August 6
The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, inaugurated a private law college, situated near IT Park, at Sahastradhara Road here today.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion, he said, “Uttarakhand was rapidly being developed as an ‘Education-Hub’. The foundation for Law University in the state has already been laid. Besides, new private colleges will also enable the students to get more opportunities in the field of law.”

He also added that three new universities would be soon opened in the state.

He advised the students not to compromise with the human values in the face of modernism. The special guest on the occasion was Chairman of the State Commission for Consumer Grievance Redressal, Justice BC Kandpal, accompanied by Chairman of the Police Shikayat Pradhikaran Justice Shambhunath Srivastav, Vice-Chancellor of the Technical University Professor DS Chauhan and Director of the institute Professor RH Gorane. — TNS

Mussoorie, August 6
The Divine Light Trust, an organisation that help underprivileged section of society, has helped two such students by providing them with financial assistance through a flagship programme, Swami Vivekanand Scholarship for Education.

Dr Venu Sanon, chairperson for the Swami Vivekanand Scholarship for an education project, has given Rs 1,500 to Prakash Chandra Sati of Chamoli for the electrician course at the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) near Ghanand School, Mussoorie. Bijendar Singh, another student, has also received the scholarship amount from the trust.

Sanon said though the government charged only Rs 40 per month for the course, most of the selected students were from underprivileged section and unable to bear all expenses while living at Mussoorie. Following this, the Divine Light Trust decided to give this scholarship to such students so that could pursue this course and become financially independent in a shorter span.

The chairperson of the trust, Dr Sunil Sanon, said other programmes being run by the trust included a “heart-to-heart project” where the poor who could not afford open heart surgery were provided with all financial help.

Dr Sanon further said the trust wanted to help more such students in Dehradun and Mussoorie.

Dehradun, August 6
On the eve of Friendship Day, Doonites in a large numbers thronged gift galleries, which are decked up with a variety of gifts to celebrate the special occasion, here today. Depending on the preferences and budget, one can pick an array of gifts, from greeting cards, friendship bands to fresh flowers.

“The occasion is very popular among the youths and kids who wish to celebrate togetherness on the occasion by gifting friendship bands, cards, flowers, coffee mugs, quotation notebooks and decorative items,” said Ruby, a gift store salesgirl. Some celebrate the occasion of friendship day for a week while others feel that a day is enough to express your feelings to your near and dear ones.

Archana, a student, believes that it’s fun to celebrate it for a week with friends. However, she has planned to watch movie with her friends tomorrow. Rachit, an accountant, says, “One doesn’t need a special day to be with friends. The relationship of friendship is inseparable, which cannot be restricted to just one day in a year.” 

Mussoorie, August 6
Panno Devi, wife of deceased lineman Bijendar Singh, a contractual worker with Uttarakhand Vidyut Corporation Limited (UPCL), who lost his life on duty in Mussoorie recently, has been forced to run from pillar to post in search of assistance as UPCL has washed its hands of providing her any kind of relief.

Panno Devi is survived by two children. She met Municipal Council president OP Uniyal and sought financial assistance so that she could sustain her life and fend for her schoolgoing children today at his office.

Panno Devi lamented the fact that the department for which her husband gave his life had completely forgotten him. She requested the Municipal Council president to provide her some kind of job at his department or help her financially.

OP Uniyal after hearing about her woes said he would consider the matter on the humanitarian grounds and also write to the Chief Minister of the state about her plight.

He also said he would also plead with the Chief Minister to help her financially so that she could pursue education of her children without hindrance.

SDO Mussoorie SK Singh said the wife of the deceased was interested at working in his place and for that there was no provision as such in the department but her son could be given a job if he applied for it.

Bijendar Singh had died due to a rickety ladder that snapped while he was attending to a complaint at the electricity pole near Gunhill a month back. This matter has revealed the petty state of contractual employees who are risking their lives on a daily basis.

Dehradun, August 6
An Indian delegation of students to the International Model United Nations Summer Camp 2011 were welcomed on their arrival from the United States at The Heritage School here yesterday.

Aditya Semwal, a participant of the camp and student of the school, was congratulated by B Gill, Principal, The Heritage School, for winning the award for outstanding performance by the UN.

Vikrant Chaudhary, director of the school and the group leader of the Indian delegation, said, “Delegations from 12 countries participated in the camp conducted by the UN, where 15 participants out of the 125 were awarded with special certificates for outstanding performance during the camp, of which three were from the Indian delegation.”

“The camp was more of a task to maintain peace and harmony in the world through integrity and togetherness. The model delegation promoted regulation to limit the use of minors in conflicts while in unity doing something constructive for the development of the society,” he added.

Other participants of the Indian delegation were Radhika Bhardwaj of DAV College, Dehradun, Prasoon Garg of Brightlands School, Dehradun, Inreet Kaur of Ryan International School, Punjab, and Bhavneet Sethi, an undergraduate from Canada.

Dehradun, August 6
Semifinalists in the ongoing 27th Carbery Memorial Inter- school Sub-junior Football Tournament have been spotted. The semifinals will be played on Monday.

In the first quarterfinal played today, Tibetan Homes School defeated Moravian Institute 2-0. Once again it was Tibetan star player Dorjee who made the difference. He scored a brace to help his side win.

In another quarterfinal, St George’s College defeated Hilton's Majra 2-1. Shrey and Satyam scored a goal each for the winning team. Fazaz scored a goal for Hilton’s Majra.

Doon Presidency beat Doon International School 2-0. Abhishek and Paras were the scorers in the win. Also, Wynberg Allen School entered the semifinal beating Hilton Bell Road 2-0 with the help of Kisley and Deoanand, who chipped in with a goal each.

Dehradun, August 6
Veteran footballer Amar Bahadur Gurung who has played several international matches feels that there are a lack of opportunities for budding football players in the state. “Once Dehradun used to a hub for football players. It can be proud of players it has produced in the past,” he said.

Gurung had started playing football when he was a student of Gorkha Military School. Later, he joined the Army, but continued playing for the Gorkha Brigade between 1963 and 1966. He has been a part of several championships played in the Durand Football Cup, Santosh Trophy, Mafatlal Football Cup and even the Asian Games.

“I feel proud to have got several opportunities to represent India at the international level. I followed other sports as well, but football remains my favourite sport as I grew up watching my father playing the game,” he added.

He had also won the Shiv Chhatrapati Award for his outstanding performance in the Maharashtra team as captain from 1967 to 1982. He pursued his degree in football coaching from the National Institute of Sports, Bangalore, and participated in the World Development Course conducted by FIFA.

Sharing his opinion on the game, Gurung said: “A lot needs to be done for the game like providing a good playing field to players. More funds should be allocated for the game for its improvement.”

He further said: “Efforts should be made to organise football tournaments to give a better exposure to budding players. The public still has the same craze for the game. One just needs to promote the game properly,” added Gurung, who is at present the coach of the Uttarakhand Police Football team and a mentor at Sports College, Raipur, Dehradun.

“My students participate in various football tournaments and had given their best performance at the state level too, he added.