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Support continues to pour in for Anna
Congress MP expresses
solidarity
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Railway staff hold procession
Govt mulls raising retirement age of doctors
Haridwar MC to have new building
Almora-Pithoragarh highway closed again
Manch mourns death of BB Thapa
12 houses cave in near Tehri lake
Tea garden labourers ‘not getting minimum wages’
Poisonous Mushrooms
SFI candidate for council poll
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Support continues to pour in for Anna
Dehradun, August 22 Many supporters of Anna have pasted his posters on their vehicles. A signature campaign has also been launched by them to garner support for the activist. Members of the ABVP also staged a protest in front of Congress MP Satpal Maharaj’s residence to support the anti-corruption movement of Hazare. Residents of Maldevta have also come out in support of Anna Hazare. They took out a rally in his support today. Members of the People’s Forum, Uttarakhand, and the Veer Sawarkar Yuva Sangathan continued with their demonstrations on the seventh consecutive
day today. |
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Congress MP expresses
solidarity
Dehradun, August 22 He said today that the campaign launched by Anna Hazare had helped in creating an awareness against corruption that had taken deep root in the country. “Anna Hazare’s campaign is getting a wide support in our country and I am with him on this issue,” said Satpal Maharaj. He said all should welcome a bill that included provisions to punish those who gave and accepted a bribe. “Along with a bill and political solution against corruption, citizens should also examine their own conduct and take remedial steps,” he said. However, adding a cautionary note, the MP said the bill on a critical issue like corruption could not be ready in a day. |
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Railway staff hold procession
Haridwar, August 22 The procession began from the railway wedding point and after passing through the railway station it culminated at the GRP station. Deepak Baudai, unit secretary of the union, said all the employees affiliated with the union are fully supporting Hazare’s movement as it’s in the longer interests of the nation. Union leaders Gajendra Singh, Durgesh Khanna, Vijay Shrivastava, Omveer, Kedar Singh, Shiv Poojan said the Central Government couldn’t ignore this nationwide agitation which was not being led by any political party but it’s the people who were getting associated with the movement on their own. Meanwhile, certain Hazare fans placed his photo alongside the deities At Bhairav Mandir on the Hari Har Mandir complex. Devotees prayed for the success of Anna’s movement. Meanwhile, various educational institutions and organisations held protests and candle marches across the city in support of Anna. |
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Nishank lays stone of controversial AYUSH Gram
Nainital, August 22 Just when Nishank arrived at Bhawali, the Congress workers, with black bands tied over their heads, raised slogans against the Nishank government. They were also carrying black flags. Some of them were rounded up by the police and released only after the function was over. On being released the Congress workers burnt an effigy of the Chief Minister and raised slogans against him. They said their struggle for preventing the sale of sanitarium land to private players would continue. After laying the foundation stone, Nishank claimed that the proposed AYUSH Gram would be developed as per the international norms and would be developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. He said five streams of medicine would be made available to those coming here and it would help in providing employment to the local youth. Nishank also called upon one of the promoters, Emami Group, for starting a research centre at the AYUSH Gram. He also promised that his government would do everything to revive the Chest Institute on the premises. According to a government spokesperson, Emami Group would be investing Rs 50 crore at the facility for developing a 50-bedded health centre, yoga and meditation centres, a swimming pool and a restaurant, etc. The facility is expected to be developed within 30 months. The development of the AYUSH Gram on the sanitarium premises has become a contentious issue with the Congress being radically opposed to the project. The Congress leaders have been accusing the state government of selling the land belonging to the sanitarium at a throwaway price. The Congress leadership has been saying that about ten acres of prime land in Bhawali comprising 1.5 acres belonging to the sanitarium and 8.5 acres to the Revenue Department has been sold off at a very cheap rate to a private group comprising three buyers. The Congress had recently charged that during the tenure of Narayan Dutt Tiwari as the Chief Minister, the state government had decided to set up a national-level chest institute on the sanitarium premises but the present government had instead not only shelved the project but had sold off the land belonging to the sanitarium. The land had allegedly been sold off to cosmetic manufacturing factory Emami, Chevron Hotels and Swami Chinmayanand Saraswati. Party leaders contend that the land had been sold off for a paltry sum of Rs 2.5 crore while its current price is more than Rs 50 crore, as per the existing Circle Rates. The BJP on the other hand has been contesting that the government has taken a conscious decision in a transparent manner to lease out approximately 10 acres near the existing sanitarium for a period of 35 years. It has claimed that the land that is being leased out is a wasteland which the government wants to develop as an international medical tourism destination. The BJP further contends that as per the agreement reached with Emami, the government would get back the possession of the entire facility developed on the said 10 acres after a period of 35 years. The Congress leaders also say that since it is the centre that is promoting the AYUSH scheme what is the need to involve private players in it. |
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Govt mulls raising retirement age of doctors
Dehradun, August 22 To deal with the shortage of doctors, states like Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have already raised the retirement age of doctors from 62 years to 65 years. However, the Provincial Medical and Health Services (PMHS) office-bearers claim besides benefiting the senior officials in the administrative wing, the move would have a marginal impact in the clinical area due to the fewer number of specialist doctors in the state. The state is facing an acute shortage of doctors as against a requirement of 1,200 there are only 800 doctors. The shortage is even more prominent in case of specialist doctors. When the proposal was first put forth a few months ago, it was purely aimed at benefiting doctors and to overcome their shortage. But, in view of the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state, the Nishank government may even be tempted to extend the benefit to all the state employees as well, sources claimed. If the proposal is given a nod in the coming days, the immediate beneficiaries would be the officiating Director-General, Health and Family Welfare, Dr Asha Mathur, and Director, Health, HGS Manral, both of whom would be demitting office in August-end. Economically also the move makes sense because by deferring the payment of retirement benefits in lump sum to doctors by two years, the government would be able to utilise the amount for some other purposes that may prove handy in the forthcoming elections. “At the time of retirement the government has to pay around Rs 30 lakh or Rs 40 lakh as one-time payment to doctors. In case the government raises the retirement age, it will not longer have to pay that amount to doctors for at least two years,” said Dr SD Joshi, President, PMHS. The last time that the Uttarakhand government extended the retirement age was in 2002. It was raised from 58 to 60 years and was a two-year extension for all the government employees. |
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Haridwar MC to have new building
Haridwar, August 22 The administration has decided to make a new building for the MC on the lines of the state Secretariat. Spread over 400 sq m, it will have four storeys with a large auditorium for meetings, conferences and cultural programmes. This new building will be designed by a special panel of architects of the Haridwar Development Authority. A detailed project report is being prepared as per the directions of the administrator of the MC. Notably, a few years ago, in view of the dilapidated condition of the present committee building, which is more than 100 years old, a proposal was made for constructing a multistorey building at a cost of Rs 26 crore, but it was rejected owing to the high budget. Another proposal was put forth with an estimate of Rs 19 crore and it was approved. However, the old detailed project report has been cancelled by the authorities in view of Haridwar getting the corporation status. In a few weeks’ time a new DPR will be finalised and it’s hoped that the elected councillors will sit in the new building. "We need a new building as the existing one is quite old and it can cave in during the rainy season. I hope the new building will be in sync with the status of the MC,” said former chairman of the Haridwar Municipal Committee, which was abolished this year after the city was accorded the corporation status.
— TNS |
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Almora-Pithoragarh highway closed again
Pithoragarh, August 22 “The massive landslides blocked the flow of the Panar river and a lake was formed in the area, which posed a danger to a bridge on the river. But, the personnel of the Public Works Department
(PWD) from Basauli and Lohaghat divisions succeeded in breaching the lake,” said RS
Rana, District Disaster Management Officer, Pithoragarh. Meanwhile, the road linking the border town of Jhulghat with Pithoragarh district headquarters has been blocked due to the landslides near Gaurihat town on Sunday. “The road has been closed by the district administration since Sunday,” said
Rana. He said hundreds of Nepali citizens had been stranded at Pithoragarh town due the closure of this road as it is the only route on the Indian side in this district to enter Nepal. According to the Pithoragarh district administration, owing to the closure of the road and disruption in the supplies of essential commodities for the past eight days, the administration is keeping a watch on the prices of essential goods in the town. “We are carrying out random checking drives in the town to ensure that shopkeepers do not charge exorbitant prices for essential commodities,” said Tajbal Singh, District Supplies Officer,
Pithoragarh. |
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Girda remembered on death anniversary
Dehradun, August 22 Social activists gathered at Gandhi Park to pay tributes to Girda who continued to inspire them through his works. They sang his songs and recited his poems. “People’s uprising against the government was always at the back of Girda’s mind when he had composed poems like “17 June Ka Geet”and “Desh Ki Halat Atta-Batta,” said Roshan Dhasmana, a social activist. Though the maximum part of Girda’s life was dedicated to the people’s struggle, a poet in him never took a pause. As a fitting tribute to his talent, several awards came his way, including the Uttarakhand Lok Sanskriti Samman, 1998, Shresth Shree Samamn -1996, Prakash Purohit Jaideep Simriti Samman-2001 and Umesh Dhobal Smiriti Samman in 2001. “But he never hankered after them. There was never a sense of triumph but only a sense of responsibility that he thought he would not be able to shoulder with these awards,” said Atul Sharma, a poet. NAINITAL: Street plays, discussions, film shows, a procession and a photo exhibition marked the first death anniversary of eminent folk poet, cultural and social activist Girish Tewari who is fondly remembered as Girda. His friends and followers gathered at Kranti Chowk, Tallital, and sang songs written and translated into Kumaoni by the poet. People remembered how Girda used to come up with motivating renditions and presentations on the spot when the agitation for Uttarakhand was at its peak in the mid-90s. Prominent artist Manzoor Husain read out Girda’s famous poem on the exploitation of state rivers by people. A team from the Mahila Samakhya staged a street play depicting his contribution in various agitations. Girda’s satirical humour that marked the Holi celebrations every year was also remembered in the play. A photo exhibition was also organised, where works of Anup Sah, an internationally known artist in this field, were displayed. Friends and associates of Girda, including historian Shekhar Pathak and Dharamveer Singh Parmar, talked about various facets of his personality. Two films on Girda made by Pradeep Pande and Brij Mohan Joshi were also screened. Earlier, the Sharda Sangh and Yugmanch, local cultural organisations, paid tributes to Girda. MUSSOORIE: A function was organised at a local hotel to mark the death anniversary of Girish Tiwari Girda. People from all walks of life observed a two-minute silence in the memory of the great poet. |
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Manch mourns death of BB Thapa
Mussoorie, August 22 Thapa died after a prolonged illness in Delhi and his body was brought to his residence in Dehradun yesterday. Convener of the manch Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi said BB Thapa played an active role in the Uttarakhand Movement and was arrested during the police firing incident in Mussoorie in September 1994. Later, he was tortured at the Bareilly Central Jail for nearly eight hours by the UP police. Devi Godiyal, another Andolankari leader, said they had lost a revolutionary leader who ignited the flame of the separate statehood movement. Sunil Kumar, trade union leader, said Thapa was a progressive leader. Hotel Union leader RP Badoni said he would always be remembered as a human rights crusader and for his contribution to the workers’ movement. A two-minute silence was observed in memory of
the leader. |
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12 houses cave in near Tehri lake
Mussoorie, August 22 The villagers said around dozen houses in Madan Negi and Sandna villages caved in completely. Besides, a large chunk of agricultural land on the rim of the dam has submerged due to subsidence that has been going on for the past several years. Dharam Singh, a resident of Madan Negi village, said owing to the subsidence caused by soil erosion by the lake waters they were forced to shift their belongings and livestock to their relatives’ places. The Zila Pramukh, Jakhnidar Block, Ghanand Raturi, said he had received such reports where people from these villages had been forced to abandon their houses and live in temporary shelters. He also said a team of Geological Study Institute (GSI) had visited the villages on several occasions. The villagers have demanded their complete rehabilitation so that they could live a peaceful life. The state Congress vice-president, Jot Singh Bisht, who is one of the petitioners who have moved the Supreme Court over the issue of rehabilitation, said the Supreme Court after the last year disaster that had rendered several villagers homeless had directed the district administration to conduct a GSI survey. However, the government had not acted on its report so far, revealing its callous attitude towards the poor villagers of the area. Meanwhile, Nayab Tehsildar Pratap Nagar visited the area to make an assessment of the damage caused due to the subsidence. The Kshetra Panchayat member, Prem Dutt Juyal, said several GSI surveys had been conducted during 1990-2003 and they had also reported about the risk to these villages. Following that an observation committee was formed, but even after that rehabilitation process had not started yet. |
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Tea garden labourers ‘not getting minimum wages’
Dehradun, August 22 While inaugurating the convention, district president, All-India Trade Union Congress, Jeet Singh said tea gardens in the state were established long before Independence where labourers, hired from various districts of Uttar Pradesh, had been living for seven generations.However, the labourers were not getting the minimum wages. He said the revision of wages, which must be legally done after every five years, had been pending for the past nine years. General secretary, AITUC, KR Kashyap said discussions had been held with the Labour Minister and officials of the Labour Department in this regard but to no avail. The labourers were being exploited as they were not given the mandatory ESI, PF, identity card and other facilities. |
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Poisonous Mushrooms
Pithoragarh, August 22 The number of deaths in this family of Buggishal village, Dhauladevi block, has reached four. Earlier, her three siblings died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. According to reports, they had consumed wild poisonous mushrooms on August 16. Jagdish Ram, father of the deceased children, said: “All of my five children had eaten mushrooms collected from the nearby forest on the fateful day. After some time, they fell ill. One of them died at home while the other three died in the hospital. One is still under treatment.” |
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SFI candidate for council poll
Dehradun, August 22 Pankaj Barthwal is the SFI candidate for the post of vice-president. The decision was taken at a meeting of SFI members held under the presidentship of Abhishek Bhandari, district president, SFI. |
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