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Peyjal Nigam employees reject bailout package
BJP ticket only for probable winners, says Chufal
Schools to get extra rations
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PWD official held on bribe charge
Special coaches exhibit facets of Vivekananda’s life
Officials told to expedite AIDS awareness drive
Need to popularise marma chikitsa
111 custodial deaths reported in 10 years in state: Rights panel
Lecturers demand ad hoc appointments
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Peyjal Nigam employees reject bailout package
Dehradun, November 24 “We will not be cowed and will continue with our stir, irrespective of the consequences. For the past 11 years, we have been raising this demand but instead of coming with a positive reply the government has offered a bailout package to put the issue on the back burner as the elections are approaching,” said Ravinder Kumar Jain, Chief Engineer (Kuamaon region), Peyjal Nigam. At a press conference held today, Jain said the government’s decision to grant a package of Rs 30 crore as a one-term settlement was only a temporary solution. “It will be able to address only the limited and immediate needs of the employees who have not received salaries for the past two months. The government is passing on the interest incurred on the money parked in banks to the nigam, but according to our assessment, the government will require at least Rs 70 crore to address the immediate needs of the employees of the nigam that also include pension, gratuity funds and payments according to the 6th Pay Commission recommendations,” said Jain. It may be mentioned that the government had offered a bailout package of Rs 30 crore yesterday, provided the employees and the officers called off their indefinite stir. On the other hand, SP Singh, Chief Engineer (Garhwal), said 11 years have passed but the Uttarakhand Government had failed to come up with a water policy and had not integrated different bodies under one department. “As a result, there is no regulatory body to oversee the exploitation and utilisation of surface and groundwater,” he said. Time and time again the Uttarakhand Government has rejected the demand on the grounds that in order to accord government department status to the Peyjal Nigam, it would have to pass an amendment which it says is not possible as the elections are around. President of the Officers-Employees Joint Coordination Committee, Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, BP Jain said after November 28 even the employees of the Jal Sansthan would joint their stir. |
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BJP ticket only for probable winners, says Chufal
Nainital, November 24 Replying to a query during a media interaction in Nainital today, he said the selection of contestants for the poll was a long-drawn out exercise in the BJP and those with chances of winning would be given the ticket. He downplayed the statements of various leaders from within his party who had been making claims of having been unofficially declared as party candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections. “We will be deciding on candidates by December. The exercise to shortlist the aspirants has been started. Teams of our functionaries have been interacting with party workers for the purpose,” he said. He was evasive on the issue of para-dropping of candidates from outside but said people from Uttarakhand who had been working outside the state for a short while could aspire to contest the poll. When asked about the allegations of the involvement of BJP workers in various incidents of violence that had rocked Rudrapur town of Udham Singh Nagar in the recent past, he said the incidents were still being investigated. On the incident of a violent clash between the followers led by Congress legislator Tilak Raj Behed and those led by Raj Kumar Thukral of the BJP, he tried to downplay the incident saying it was only a fight over a trivial matter which got sorted out soon after the incident. Chufal was in Nainital to make preparations for the bi-monthly meeting of the BJP’s national general secretaries that is being held on December 4. This will be followed by a public rally addressed by party’s national president Nitin Gadkari and other senior leaders. He claimed that the recent Jan Chetna Yatra of senior BJP leader LK Advani had created a political atmosphere in favour of the BJP in Uttarakhand. |
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Schools to get extra rations
Nainital, November 24 These orders were given to District Supplies Officer (DSO) in Udham Singh Nagar district NC Semwal by her at a meeting held this morning. The team had carried out an inspection of several schools in the district. She underlined that education was a right of every child and educated children were a nation’s asset. She pointed that the MDM was an important tool for drawing maximum number of children to the schools. She ordered Additional District Basic Education Officer AK Singh to provide funds for purchase of food grains and supplementary items like salt and sugar well in advance so that the schools did not have to procure these items on credit. Pachauri asked the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) YC Sharma to carry out regular health check-ups of school children in the district. An interesting fact that came to light during at the review meeting was that 55 per cent children are having problems on account of having worms in their stomach. It was advised that a special programme for deworming be undertaken. On the issue of 8 per cent being found to be anaemic, it was stated that help be taken from AYUSH to deal with the problem. It was also ordered that special steps be taken to deal with the dental problems and calcium deficiency among the children. Pachauri expressed her surprise and dismay over the fact that the adolescent girls enrolled in various schools were not being provided sanitary napkins nor were they being imparted information about their use. She said the Mahila Samakhya and the Health Department should jointly address this issue. She underlined that the children and their parents must be made aware of the MDM scheme, hygiene and the meal menu. She said it was the responsibility of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide best quality food grains to the schools. She also asked Additional Labour Commissioner RC Tewari to undertake a special drive to address the problem of child labour and implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The nodal officer for implementing the MDM in the district, Professor Poonam Singh, emphasised the need to provide meals as per the taste of the children while keeping in mind the nutritional value. District Magistrate PS Jangpangi accepted the existence of child labour in the district and said a fresh survey would be carried out to identify the children and get their profiles prepared. He said that steps would be taken with the help of the industry and social organisations to deal with the problem. |
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PWD official held on bribe charge
Dehradun, November 24 Rawat alleged the AE had refused to sign the agreement paper related to the project awarded to him regarding the collection of waste road material from the Kuthra Road at New Tehri unless he paid him Rs 3.8 lakh out of the total project cost of Rs 50 lakh. He said: “I have been working on this project for the past 6 months and paid only Rs 12.5 lakh till date. A second instalment of Rs 30 lakh was pending as Kumar was obstructing it. The senior officials signed the agreement documents but not Kumar. I am under debt and immense pressure as well”. Superintendent of Police, Vigilance, BK Juyal raided Kumar’s house and found Rs 8.99 lakh and pass books of various banks. “He has deposited Rs 2 lakh in the ICICI Bank, Rs 75,000 in a post office under a fixed deposit scheme, Rs 1.88 lakh in the SBI, New Tehri, Rs 1.54 lakh in Sahkari Bank, Tehri Garhwal, Rs 3.97 lakh in another bank, one lakh in the SBI, Dehradun, and abour Rs 1 lakh in the SBI, Muzzafarnagar in his wife’s name,” said Juyal. Kumar also bought a plot measuring 240 metres on the Sahastradhara road for Rs 15 lakh in his wife’s name. Juyal said Kumar paid lesser money in registry though the cost of the land is above Rs 40 lakh. A case of amassing assets disproportionate to the means of his income has been filed against Kumar. About the cash which was fond at his residence, Kumar said: “The money was a part of a sum of Rs 33 lakh which was to be paid to farmers for acquiring their land for road widening. I was yet to pay the money to them”. It was the fourth case in succession where state government officials have been held for allegedly indulging in corruption. The other three are Dharam Singh, Drug Controller, Meena Shah, Child Development Project Officer, and Sushil Pandey, Assistant Executive, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. Director-General of Police, Vigilance, Satyavrat has announced a prize of Rs 10,000 for the team that trapped the AE. Juyal too has announced a reward of Rs 2,500 for the team. |
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Special coaches exhibit facets of Vivekananda’s life
Haridwar, November 24 Special two air-conditioned coaches run by the Indian Railways on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda were opened to the public at platform no. 9 here today. The coaches, which will remain stationed at the platform till November 28 in Haridwar, which is the 13th destination of this exhibition train in the northern region. This express exhibition commenced on October 7 from Delhi Cantonment and Varanasi will be its last destination, where it will reach on the New Year’s Eve. The coaches exhibit a large collection Swami Vivekananda’s rare pictures, write-ups, teachings and life details, etc. According to the railway officials, the motive behind running this exhibition train is to bring Swami Vivekananda, who was instrumental in the revival of Hinduism in modern India and introduction of Hindu philosophy of Vedanta and yoga to the Western world, closer to the younger generation. Swami Nitya Sudhanand, general secretary of Ramkrishan Paramhans Mission, urged people to have a glimpse of the great philosopher’s life, who instilled feelings of patriotism in people and preached communal harmony. “We are in constant touch with different schools and educational institutions to draw more and more students to this exhibition train, as they are the future of the country and will benefit immensely from knowing about Swami Vivekananda’s life and his teachings,” said Swami Nitya
Sudhanand. |
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Officials told to expedite AIDS awareness drive
Nainital, November 24 At a meeting held at Rudrapur yesterday to chalk out the programmes for World AIDS Day that falls on December 1, Jangpangi ordered Chief Medical Officer (CMO) YS Verma to make sure that all the AIDS patients were provided with the required treatment and a large-scale campaign was initiated to make people aware of Additional District Education Officer (ADEO) DC Sati has been ordered to organise essay-writing, slogan-writing and debate competitions in various schools on the topic of AIDS on December 1. It was decided at the meeting that schoolchildren would carry out an AIDS awareness rally on the day. It would start from the old District Hospital and reach the Gandhi Park after passing through various parts of the city. Public schools would also organise events on the day. It was related at the meeting that there were 259 identified HIV patients in the district who are being provided the required treatment. The administration has called upon the civil society organisations to come forward for the cause of AIDS removal in society.
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Need to popularise marma chikitsa
Haridwar, November 24 Marma experts also voiced for sincere efforts to revive, popularise and intense research works on this medical therapy. Alongside the seminar, a training camp was also organised where treatment of the people was done free of cost while also the young medicos were trained by the marma experts. Renowned marma expert Dr Sunil Joshi cited that marma chikitsa emanated from the Vedas as since the Vedic era, different parts of human body were being cured by this medical practice. He termed Maharshi Shrushut the proponent of this ancient medical practice which went into other parts of the world by foreign invaders, but not in its truest form such as acupressure, unani and other medical practices. “We cured those patients too who were not cured by allopathic, ayurvedic or other practices but marma therapy worked wonders for them”, said Dr Sunil Joshi, who is running free marma camps across the country and in foreign countries too like Mauritius. Religious gurus and academicians also attended the convention pointing to the healing touch (marma) that this therapy brings in curing diseases without having any side effects. Mahavir Aggarwal of the Uttaranchal Sanskrit Academy lauded the efforts of the marma experts who are providing medical treatment at almost no cost, curing even those people who, despite spending lakhs in allopathic, don’t recover from any ailment fully.
About the therapy
Marma chikitsa is based on a healing-touch science. According to it, there are many sensitive points in the body. It was practised by Indian sages in ancient times, even before yoga and other forms of healing, claims Dr Sunil Joshi. All these points are connected with the brain and are pressed to stimulate the senses. Apart from curing various ailments, the therapy is quite effective in prevention, too, making a person live a healthy life and strengthening his immune system
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111 custodial deaths reported in 10 years in state: Rights panel
Dehradun, November 24 Interestingly, on the national perspective, “Torture in India 2011”, states that a total of 14,231 persons, more than four persons per day, died in the police and judicial custody in the country from 2001 to 2010. This includes 1,504 deaths in the police custody and 12,727 deaths in the judicial custody from 2001 to 2010 as per the cases submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). A large majority of the deaths are a direct consequence of torture in the custody. “These deaths reflect only a fraction of the problem with torture and custodial deaths in the country as not all cases of deaths in the police and judicial custody are reported to the NHRC”, disclosed Suhas Chakma, Director, Asian Centre for Human Rights. Further, the NHRC does not have jurisdiction over the armed forces and the NHRC also does not record statistics of torture not resulting into death. In judicial custody deaths, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths with 2,171 deaths, followed by Bihar (1512) and Maharashtra (1176). Andhra Pradesh (1037), Tamil Nadu (744), Punjab (739) and West Bengal has recorded 601 judicial custody deaths. Uttarakhand recorded 91 judicial custody deaths. A large of number of these deaths were the result of torture, denial of medical facilities and sub-human conditions in Indian jails. Similarly, in the police custody, during 2001-2010, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of deaths in the police custody with 250 deaths followed by Uttar Pradesh (174), Gujarat (134), Andhra Pradesh (109), West Bengal (98) and Tamil Nadu recorded 95 deaths. Uttarakhand recorded 20 police custody deaths. Suhas Chakma suggests the Union Government to enact the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, as drafted by the Parliamentary Select Committee without any dilution into a law. “The ACHR also suggested the NHRC to recommend prosecution of the guilty public officials in all cases in which compensation is recommended”, Chakma observed. He alleged that the failure of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to introduce the Bill in the current Parliament session demonstrates India’s lack of political will to stamp out torture. |
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Lecturers demand ad hoc appointments
Dehradun, November 24 Addressing the agitators outside the Vidhan Sabha building here, president of the federation Dr DC Bebni said they had been staging dharna for long but the state government was least sensitive towards their demand. He said the contractual lectures were serving in far-flung colleges of the state. “The contribution of contractual teachers in the spread of higher education in the remote areas of the state is immense. But the government now wants to render these contractual lecturers jobless,” he pointed out. Another agitator Dr Santosh Kumar Singh said “While the Uttarakhand Government has regularised 24,000 contractual employees at various state departments, why is it hesitant to give ad hoc appointments to mere 550 contractual lecturers?” — TNS
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Terming the bailout package offered by the government as a short-term measure, officials of the Uttarakhand Peyjal
Nigam.
The state Vigilance Department has trapped Praveen Kumar, Assistant Executive (AE),
PWD, while he was allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from PWD contractor Bhupender Singh Rawat at his official residence in New Tehri this morning. The team, led by Vigilance official Rajiv
Dandriyal, acted on a complaint filed by Rawat, in which he stated the AE was demanding a bribe of Rs 3,80,000 from him and sought Rs 50,000 as advance.
Be it the historic “Sisters and brothers of America….” speech delivered by Swami Vivekananda at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893 or that the great philosopher was well versed in classical music, both vocal and instrumental, one can get to know about several facets of Swami Vivekananda’s life at a single place in
Haridwar.
Terming marma chikitsa the ancient art of medical practices having no side effects, experts from various parts of the country attended the concluding session of a five-day-long seminar-cum-training programme organised by the Mrityunjaya Mission at Shri Yantra
Mandir, Kankhal, today.
