Dehradun, September 6
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank’s late night swoop yesterday on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Coronation Hospital has brought bad news for the post-mortem house that is being built in the vicinity.

After spending close to Rs 20 lakh on the construction of the post-mortem house, which is nearing completion, the hospital authorities are in a fix after the Chief Minister ordered for its removal during a surprise inspection.

The sudden objection to the post-mortem house has left the hospital authorities stunned.

Hospital sources claim that the issue is being needlessly raked more so when the Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of the coronation hospital has been keeping unwell and was unable to turn up for the inspection due to his ailment last night.

However, in the unseemly controversy surrounding the post-mortem house’s location, vital issues like the hospital’s right to set up a modern post-mortem house and convenience of location for doctors and persons who wait for the bodies after post-mortem is conducted are being ignored.

It is believed that the residents living in the vicinity of the hospital are opposed to post-mortem house at the coronation hospital on the grounds that it presents an unseemly picture with dead bodies being brought in and out.

Their protest also gained strength when the builders community too joined in. It is feared that the post-mortem house located in a posh area will lead to a fall in real estate prices.

But the matter seemed to have been finally settled after the Nainital High Court dismissed a PIL filed in 2010, opposing its construction.

Interestingly, residents of Chandernagar, where it continues to be housed even now, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition. It was pointed out that the post-mortem house was causing inconvenience to the residents as the area had become congested.

A school building and a temple too exist side by side. Later, the court ordered it’s shifting, thereby forcing the health authorities to look for a suitable land and ordered that the construction be completed by October 2010.

With the court deadline hanging like a Damocles sword and hunt for a suitable piece of land at Kargi leading to a dead end, the Chief Medical Office (CMO) decided to construct the post-mortem house at the coronation hospital.

In its plea, the authorities had stated that the unavailability of land had delayed the construction.

But now with the Chief Minister issuing the diktat last night, the hospital authorities are in a quandary as the project cannot be abandoned midway.

“I visited the hospital today and the work is nearing completion. We will hold talks with the government on the issue soon,” said Dr Asha Mathur, DG Health and Family Welfare. 

Dehradun, September 6
Peeved at the non-inclusion of their names in the list of statehood agitators, advocates of the District Courts went on a strike today.

Later in the day, the Dehradun Bar Association held its general house meeting, where it was decided to constitute a committee of former and current members of the association.

Members of the proposed panel will meet the District Magistrate and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, demanding their recognition as statehood agitators. The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar) has also extended support to the association in this regard.

President of the association Manmohan Kandwal said: “If journalists who did their job of covering the state movement can be included in the list, then why not advocates who led the state formation struggle from front under the banner of the Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti. Advocates of the District Courts, Dehradun, had fought the cases of agitators and even arranged for vehicles to bring them back from jails.”

He said they would select members for the new committee in a day or two and it would be headed by him only.

Kandwal said if the government failed to consider their demands, they would intensify their agitation. Those who attended the meeting included secretary of the association Anil Gandhi, general secretary Kali Prasad Bhatt, member of the Dehradun Bar Council Chander Shekhar Tiwari, Surender Pundir, Rajia Begh and Manmohan Lamba.

Dehradun, September 6
Uttrakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) is replacing the routine power transformers with slick compact substations at ten main locations in the city, giving some respite to customers from long power cuts, who have been facing sleepless nights. Each substation will cost 
Rs 16 lakh.

Each compact substation will be installed at Paltan Bazar, Bakra wala, Saharanpur Road, Ballupur, Devi Ki Complex, Moti Bazar, Lakhi Singh Police Chowki, Gandhi Park and Sabji Mandi while two compact substations will be installed at the Asley Hall.

After trials with two compact substations, each at Paltan Bazar and the GPO office in the city and one at Haridwar, a couple of years ago, the UPCL has now decided to come up with 10 more compact substations at the busiest locations in the city.

Managing Director, UPCL, Anil Kumar Jain said, “Our experiment with the compact substation had turned out to be a major success. In compact substation, the greatest advantage is that even if one transformer gets damaged, the load gets transferred within the system and the electricity supply is not disrupted. Since its capacity of 990 KV is more than double as compared with normal transformer of 400 KV, it will provide an enhanced voltage without any problem of overloading.”

Even from the safety and aesthetic point of view, the compact substation is being projected as the best bet. “Since the high tension (HT) and low tension (LT) wires are neatly packed into the compact substation, therefore, they do not hang loose or look messy. Because of the tight packaging, the HT and LT wires do not break during heavy rain. The set up is safe also for humans, as it is shock proof,” said Jain.

The distribution cell of the UPCL is upbeat about the new equipment.

General Manager, distribution, SK Tamta said, “The demand of repair or change of transformers will come down significantly with the compact substation in place. The complaints of power breakdowns, which used to prolong for long durations will also be reduced. Since the compact substation will be installed at chief and busy locations in the city, therefore, a large chunk of customers will be benefited.”

He further added that the entire set up of the compact substation was maintenance free due to its unique design.

According to Tamta, the tender process for the compact substation will begin soon and in six months the equipments would be installed at various places in the city.

A fruit seller on a flooded road in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, September 6
Dehradun experienced heavy rain today with all major roads of the city getting inundated. Other parts of Uttarakhand also experienced rain. According to Dehradun Meteorological Centre Executive Director Dr Anand Sharma, rain will continue to take place in isolated places in the next 24 hours. He said even rain in Dehradun would continue for a day.

Doonites came across heavy showers during afternoon hours. The heavy rain that continued for almost couple of hours inundated all major roads of Dehradun. Schoolchildren had a harrowing time braving rains. Traffic snarls were also witnessed at a number of roads.

Dehradun, September 6
Employees of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) are on a warpath. A meeting of Forest Scientists’ Association (FoSA), Technical Staff Association (TSA) and Ministerial Staff Association (MSA) today drew a plan for agitation, alleging lack of proper salary and allowances.

The associations will stage protests on the campus of the Forest Research Institute from September 12 to 14, which will be followed by mass casual leave on September 15.

Members of the associations employed at various ICFRE centres across the country are also expected to participate in the protests in their respective centres.

Further, a pen down campaign will begin from November 2.

Speakers at the meeting said since its creation in 1991, the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education was working as an autonomous organisation of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, through a cabinet note to provide autonomy to the research and development in the field of forestry and environment science, analogous to either Indian Council of Agriculture Research or Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

“However, even after 20 years of its formation, no efforts have been made to bring it to either of the 
patterns.

The situation has seriously been affecting both the morale of the permanent employees and research outcomes of the ICFRE. In fact, the deviation from the cabinet note clearly indicated a violation of the government orders,” the speakers said.

The meeting unanimously authorised the office bearers of the associations to take-up pay, perks and other benefit issues with the ICFRE administration and the Environment Ministry. It was also resolved that no vindictive action, if any, of the authorities will be accepted against any of the employee.

The house resolved that the shifting of the headquarters of the ICFRE from Dehradun to Delhi or Noida will not be allowed till all the issues were settled once for all.

CM Sharma, secretary, TSA, Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, secretary, MSA and Dr Ashok Kumar, FoSA, Sudhir Kumar, Chairman, FoSA and AK Gazwal, chairman, TSA were prominent participants in the meeting. 

Dehradun, September 6
The Doon Film Society and “Reach Talkies” will organise South African film festival in collaboration with the Federation of Film Societies of India and the Embassy of South Africa. The festival will open on September 11 at Muse (Hotel Inderlok) with the screening of “Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)”. It is the first major film to be made in the newly democratic South Africa and is the winner of an international award.

Nelson Mandela proclaimed the movie by South African filmmaker and screenwriter Darrell Roodt “a monument to the future”. Roodt made an international name for himself with his debut feature film, “A Place of Weeping (1986)”, a passionate condemnation of apartheid.

Two more films by the same director to be screened in the festival are, “Sarafina! (1992)”, an adaptation of the anti-apartheid stage musical, on September 18 and “Yesterday (2004)” to be screened on September 25.

“Yesterday” is a mother, who has a young daughter “Beauty”. After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and daughter to tend to, Yesterday’s only goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school.

The movies to follow are, “Dollars and White Pipes (2005)” about the emergence of gangs in the townships in the 1970s and 1980s and, “Mama Jack”, which is about Jack, who unwittingly finds himself on the wrong side of the law. On the run, he emerges disguised as a black woman, “Mama Jack”.

The festival will close on October 9 with “Red Dust (2004”), which is about South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TARC), established to conduct hearings and granting amnesty to those, who admit responsibility for apartheid atrocities.

Dehradun September 6
Welham Girls’ School edged past Summer Valley School 38-07 in the semifinal of the District Youth (Under-16) Girls Basketball Championship held at Welham Girls’ School here today.

Swati from Welham Girls’ School was the highest scorer with 14 points to help the winning teams register a comfortable win.

In the second match, Convent of Jesus and Mary School outplayed Doon International School 26-11 with Mehak striking 9 points.

The semifinals for boys will be played tomorrow between Doon School and Welham Boys’ School, Summer Valley School and Doon International. 

Dehradun, September 6
Sunderwala got the better of Cantt Blue 1-0 in a super league match of the district football league that held on the Pavilion Ground on Tuesday.

Manoj (15th) was the scorer of the match. On the other hand, Cantt Blue made some good goal bearing attempts but failed to score any goal. In the second match, Adhoiwala beat Doon Star 3-0.

Amar (28th) and Chris (62nd, 68th) shone for the winning team. Doon Star had to face tough challenge as none of its players could strike any goal. Tomorrow, Garhwal Sporting will face Uttarakhand Police at 4pm.

Dehradun, September 6
The newly elected office-bearers of the Student Council of DAV PG College participated in the oath-taking ceremony conducted in the college auditorium 
here today.

The office-bearers took an oath in the presence of the college administration and dignitaries, who blessed them and encouraged them to serve with dedication during their tenure.

The ceremony initiated with the lighting of a lamp by the state Agriculture Minister, Trivender Singh Rawat, who was the 
chief guest.

The minister was accompanied by Ganesh Joshi, MLA, Rajpur and Upender Thapli, zilla panchayat member, Mussoorie.

The newly elected office-bearers are Ashish Rawat (president), Pankaj Barthwal (vice-president), Bhagwati Prasad (general secretary), Archana (joint secretary), Poonam (treasurer) and Ayush Semwal (university representative).

While addressing the new office-bearers, the chief guest encouraged them to serve with dedication and perseverance throughout their tenure.

He said, “The students have the greatest strength, which can deal with any sort of challenges. I wish all the students with bright future and a good career.”

Principal of the DAV PG College Dr Devender Bhasin, chief election officer Dr Dinesh Pratap and other ABVP members were also present on the occasion.

MKP College
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 6
A new panel of the Students Union of MKP PG College were administered the oath at a ceremony held here on the campus today. The managing director of Hotel Great Value, Loveleena Modi, was the chief guest on the occasion, who inaugurated the ceremony. The programme started with a welcome address by the Principal of the college, Indu Singh.

Later Modi along with president of the Student Council Akanksha Sharma, Principal of the college Dr Indu Singh and chief election officer Dr Rekha Khare lighted the mother lamp.

Meanwhile, all the elected candidates took the oath.

While addressing the gathering, Akanksha said she would stand for the rights of the students and was ready to help them.

The newly elected members are Akanksha Sharma (president), Divya Chauhan (vice-president), Madhulika Sharma (general secretary), Hema Rawat (joint secretary), Jyoti (treasurer), Anchal Bhalla, Priya Sachdeva, Rakhi, Bhawna Rawat, Anjali Kumar and Sukanya Dogra (college executives).

The oath was taken in presence of the Principal, chief election officer and other staff members of the college.

MPG College
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, September 6
The newly elected union members of Municipal Postgraduate (MPG) College were administered the oath at a simple ceremony held at the college library here yesterday.

The chief guest on the occasion, Mussoorie Municipal Council president, swore in the newly elected members Manjeet Rawat for the post of president, Arjun Singh for the post of vice-president, Rakesh Negi for the post of general secretary, Dhanveer Singh Rawat for joint secretary, Narendar Panwar for treasurer and Anit Kumar for the post of university representative.

Abdul Qadir and Ajeet Singh Panwar were also sworn in for the post of executive members. Chief guest OP Uniyal congratulating the newly elected members praised the conduct of students during college elections.

He further said the Mussoorie Municipal Council (MC) would support the union on its justified demands.

Principal of the college RS Shukla also congratulated the newly elected body and said the university representative should raise the issue of delayed mark-sheets at the university meeting and sought out the problems to avoid any inconvenience to the students.

He also appealed to the students that as elections were over they should concentrate on the academics diligently.

The newly elected president said the would raise the issues concerning students during his tenure without any bias. Election officer Shyam Gupta along with other teaching staff RS Panwar, Sudhir Gairola, MC ward member Nand Lal and others were present on the occasion.