Dehradun, August 10
The health wing of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) has not yet started collecting food samples, which is a normal practice during a festive season, thanks to the delay in the notification of the structure of the Food Safety Authority of Uttarakhand which will be responsible for the implementation of the new Food Safety and Standards Regulations 2011. The regulations have come into force since August 5.

This has emboldened unscrupulous shopkeepers, especially the owners of certain sweet shops, who sell adulterated stuff during festival seasons. The corporation earlier used to collect samples during a festive season and they were quite regular with the practice in order to check adulteration of food products. But, in the absence of any authority enforcing the new Food Safety and Standard Regulations, no one is ready to take responsibility of collecting samples.

The officials concerned say they do not want to take the risk of collecting food samples, as they are yet to receive the government orders. The notification of the structure of the Food Safety Authority of Uttarakhand was to come soon but with the Commissioner, who was to look into the matter, having gone abroad, the file has not been taken up. None of the DMC officials is ready to take the initiative till they receive the government orders.

“We are not allowed to collect any samples without the notification. Who would be responsible if something happens?” asked the Senior Health Officer, DMC, Dr Kailash Joshi. “Earlier it was the DMC which used to check food adulteration and send samples to a laboratory but since the new regulations have come into force, it is difficult to work without any information on a particular project,” he affirmed.

According to the new rules, a Food Inspector is to be appointed as the Food Safety Officer but because of the delay in the government notification the employees are neither have the authority of food inspectors nor food safety officers. They are now just waiting for the government orders defining their job according to the new regulations.

Councillor Ashok Verma, Leader of the Opposition in the DMC House, stated this was a very serious matter and action should be taken by the authorities concerned immediately. “The agency concerned, be it the administration or the CMO, should implement the policy pattern as soon as possible or the shopkeepers would keep on playing with the health of the public by selling them adulterated food items,” the councillor added.

Dehradun, August 10
The prices of fruits and feni are skyrocketing nowadays due to its increased demand. The Hindu calendar month of “Saawan” will end soon and the increased demand in the holy month of Ramzan has pushed the prices of these eatables up.

In “Saawan”, Hindus prefer eating fruits during fasting while Ramzan carries a special significance for Muslims who fast throughout the day and rely on fruits and feni that they eat during early morning meals known as “Sehri”.

Talking to The Tribune, Mohammad Zaheer, a fruit seller, said the consumption of fruits increased as people normally broke their fast by eating it. “Due to the huge demand of fruits, they are being sold at a higher price than in normal days,” he mentioned.

The prices of all fruits, including dates, have increased since beginning of this month. Papaya that is normally sold at Rs 20-25 is now available at Rs 30-35 while the dates cost something between Rs 70 and Rs 600 per kg according to its variety.

Apples are being sold at Rs. 80 to Rs. 120 per kg while banana, the fruit of the poor, is also selling at Rs 40 a dozen.

A shopkeeper near eth masjid in Paltan Market stated that he preferred purchasing dates from Dubai, Iran and Iraq. “It costs between Rs 70 and Rs 600 per kg as the demand rises during Ramzan,” he affirmed.

Other food items that are consumed during this period include feni, which is made of corn flour, suji, rusk, fruit bread, sherwaal and khajla. Suji feni that costs Rs 100 per kg is in high demand, Mohammad, a vendor of these food items, said.

Dehradun, August 10A team of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) demolished at least 30 structures at Ram Nagar here today.

The team reached the spot this morning and carried on the demolition work till afternoon as the JCB they took along went out of order.

Though the residents opposed the drive, due to the police force the team carried on with its work. The DMC has identified as many as 80 illegal structures at Ram Nagar near Deep Nagar. The team will now demolish the remaining structures in the coming days.

Dehradun, August 10
State Leader of the Opposition Harak Singh Rawat said today that Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank should come clean on his PhD and other degrees.

He said the Congress would submit a memorandum to the Uttarakhand Governor demanding the checking of the authenticity of the degrees possessed by the Chief Minister.

At a press conference today, Rawat expressed apprehensions over the possession of a “fake” PhD degree by the Chief Minister.

He said they had sought information on various academic courses under the RTI Act as the party feared that Nishank was in the possession of “fake” certificates.

To a query regarding the involvement of members of his family in an alleged land grab case, Rawat described this as “baseless” and said he would give a befitting reply to all those maligning his image.

Dehradun, August 10
When the two sing together, they seamlessly merge their separate identities. Disciplining the overpowering “self” and achieving oneness, the performance of the duo then appears solo and seldom jugalbandi.

So it has been for Pandit Rajan and Sajan Mishra, the doyens of Benares Khayal gayaki, ever since they turned professional in 1968. “It is much to do with the unconditional love that we profess for each other and the ‘sanskars’ instilled by our parents. The togetherness begins from home. You see in our household, our kitchen is not separate, this tradition is still intact even now. We have rarely thought of going solo and have been inseparable since childhood,” affirmed Rajan Mishra, while enjoying the panoramic view of the hills visible from his home in Doon.

Far from the maddening crowd and in a reflective mood, Pandit Mishra opined that he had been singularly lucky and is able to do what his heart desired.

“Though I am a postgraduate in sociology from Benares Hindu University, initially I pursued singing as a hobby, but later it became my vocation. I am ever thankful to the Almighty for helping me make a choice that has left me content and happy,” said Pandit Mishra.

The duo are in Dehradun to participate in the SPIC MACAY concert slated for the evening.

Singing sublime songs of gratitude, both brothers have managed to imbibe the best from the Benares Gharana and the lessons learnt from their Gurus Pandit Hanuman Mishra and Guru Gopal Prasad Mishra.

“Without them, we would have been nowhere, they have been instrumental in enhancing our knowledge. Going forward, what we have done is to introduce an element of ‘sahitya’ or words that was rarely done in the past. Our effort is to make the audience understood the raags and bhajans that are being sung. Secondly, no matter the technical virtuosity, what renders a song or a raag that lilting quality are emotion and spontaneity,” added the maestro.

The total faith in God has helped them carve an altogether different world that is more do with contemplation and inner awareness.

“I have always believed that if one has faith in God, He will deliver and help you reach your destination. There is no use fretting and fuming. Osho and his teachings have influenced me a great deal,” said Rajan.

Joining his brother Sajan Mishra said there rarely had been a dull moment in their lives, the love and the desire of the audience to stay put in their seats even when the concerts had gone on for hours gave him immense happiness.

“The riveting attention of the audience is enough for us. We have given long performances ending in the wee hours of the morning with intermittent breaks in towns of Maharashtra and Karnataka and these gave us enough indication about the interest that people have for our kind of music in relatively small towns,” said Pandit Sajan Mishra.

Mussoorie, August 10
Having failed to work out modalities for the construction of a town hall on the PPP mode last year, the Mussoorie Municipal Council is yet again making efforts to construct it on a newly coined term, PPP pattern.

Under this project, the council will not spend any money, but will provide a floor of the proposed building to the interested party to carry out a business so that it could recover the amount spent on the construction of the building. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 10-15 crore. According to Executive Officer of the Mussoorie Municipal Board Rohtash Sharma, a proposal for the construction of the hall under the PPP pattern had been sent to the state government on May 9, which has approved the same and directed the council to invite fresh bids and float global tenders. Following this, a detailed project report and the design of the project had been prepared and the council had invited bids under the expression of interest through a notice published in various newspapers on August 1. A bid can be submitted till August 27 and after that, the proposal would be kept in front of the board at the next meeting for the penultimate approval. Rohtash Sharma said they had made changes in the proposal this time as earlier, the proposal submitted under the PPP mode had been rejected by the government. The previous project comprised a five-star hotel along with the proposed hall and basement parking. But this time it had been modified and the ground floor along with the basement would be given to a private partner on lease in addition to the town hall.

He said if the bidder had some better design, it could be accepted after consultation. “The hall will be managed by the Municipal Council only and the maintenance will be on a sharing basis,” he added.

Explaining difference between the PPP mode and the PPP pattern, he said the PPP mode was under the PPP mode cell that was controlled by the government, whereas under the PPP pattern, all guidelines of the government would be followed, but the project would be expedited by the Municipal Council.

He said local bidders would also be given preference if they were interested in the construction of the hall.

Dehradun, August 10
St Jude’s School won the inter-school extempore debate on the third day of the Annual Creative and Academic Festival, “Mindspree”.

Harpreet Singh from St Jude’s School was declared the best speaker of the debate. Shruti Balaji from Asian School was adjudged the second best speaker. St Jude’s School was given the best team trophy.

Ann Mary School was declared the runners-up team. Summer Valley School had to be satisfied with the second runners-up trophy.

The topic was thought-provoking, “This house believes that humans have descended from other primates.”

Alok Virmani, Principal of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Academy, was the chief guest on the occasion.