DMC oppn leader meets project director
Dehradun, November 30
Leader of the Opposition in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation Ashok Verma and other Congress Councillors met project director Radhika Jha, who is heading the project of laying drinking and sewerage lines in the city, and expressed resentment against the poor condition of roads which are lying either dug up or badly covered, causing inconvenience to the commuters. Jha assured them to look into all cases.

Dumping of garbage by MC on bypass irks residents
Mussoorie, November 30
Residents of Mussoorie are irked over the dumping of garbage by the Municipal Council on the Mussoorie-Dhanaulti-Tehri bypass near Landour Bazar.

Dehradun, November 30
Though the Uttarakhand State Aids Control Society (USACS) has made the screening of expectant mothers for HIV/AIDS at all government hospitals compulsory, the absence of testing facilities for babies less than 18 months of age, in case of mother-to-child infection, has rendered the pandemic surveillance incomplete.

To ward off the possibility of passing on the infection to the baby, the tests for babies less than 18 months of age are required but the lack of testing facilities at Doon Hospital is forcing the authorities to send the samples to conduct PCR DNA tests to Delhi. “The samples of babies less than 18 months of age are being sent to Delhi. The entire arrangement is tedious as first the babies are sent to a Haridwar hospital from where the samples are collected. And then one has to wait for at least four weeks for the reports,” said Dr KS Negi, SMO (ART centre). The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) has designated Haridwar as the sample collection centre 
in the state.

The mandatory HIV tests in babies are undertaken to prevent the transmission of HIV/ AIDS from parent to child in case if one parent or both are suffering from HIV/AIDS. Otherwise, doctors have to wait for the child to reach the age of 18 months to carry out HIV confirmatory tests at the hospital.

“As newborn babies have a false positivity due to maternal antibodies, the waiting period is advised before the tests can be undertaken,” said Dr KS Negi, a child specialist, ART (Doon Hospital).

However, the HIV PCR test is a new technology used for HIV early detection testing and is accessible in big hospitals. “The PCR technology for the early detection of HIV after 28 days of exposure can help the child, in case of possible HIV infection, get early treatment. This test is usually conducted when the child is one-and-a-half-year old,” said Dr Negi.

As of now, a total of 72 children in the age group of 15 years (57 male and 34 female) are undergoing ART (Anti-retro viral treatment) for HIV at Doon Hospital. Since the setting up of the ART centre in 2006, 10 children have died of AIDS. 

Dehradun, November 30
Leader of the Opposition in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation Ashok Verma and other Congress Councillors met project director Radhika Jha, who is heading the project of laying drinking and sewerage lines in the city, and expressed resentment against the poor condition of roads which are lying either dug up or badly covered, causing inconvenience to the commuters. Jha assured them to look into all cases.

Verma complained that the roads at many places had neither been properly constructed, nor the water or sewer connections had been made. Uneven surface on the Haridwar Road, Ganga Vihar, Shivalik Enclave, Haridwar Road and Chandan Raod needed to be smoothened.

The sewerage work in Lakhi Bagh, Muslim Colony and Reetha Mandi had not been started despite the completion of the survey work in that ward, he said.

He appealed to Jha not to take up new projects unless the work related to previous roads was not completed. He also asked her to keep the quality of the work in consideration as well.

The councillors who accompanied Verma included Rajkumar, Abdul Aziz, Anup Kumar, Manmohan Dhanai, Deep Singh Chauhan, Vijender Pal and Beena Bisht.

Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary held a review meeting on Monday evening on water and sewerage lines and the reconstruction of roads. Director, Urban Development, Radhika Jha, informed him that she had given directions to complete the works on 26 roads in the city to the officials concerned.

She said work related to 17 roads had already been completed and the rest of the work on seven roads would be completed by December 5.

While expressing satisfaction over the pace of work, the Chief Secretaries directed her to dispose of the collected waste construction material from the sites as well. He asked her to accelerate the work in double shifts and ensure on the spot inspection side by side.

Mussoorie, November 30
Residents of Mussoorie are irked over the dumping of garbage by the Municipal Council on the Mussoorie-Dhanaulti-Tehri bypass near Landour Bazar.

According to Ravi Goel, a local shopkeeper, the practise of throwing garbage on the roadside had been going on despite repeated complaints to the MC. The Mussoorie Traders Association president, Rajat Agarwal, alleged that Landour Bazar, also known as old Mussoorie, was facing neglect and the MC, instead of beautifying the area, was defacing it with such activity, which could lead to a major health hazard in the near future if not stopped immediately. The MC health officer, NS Rana, however, said as the road to the regular dumping site at Gaddi Khaana was under repair, the dumping site had been temporarily shifted to Mussoorie-Dhanaulti-Tehri bypass. Once the construction of the road was over, the dumping would resume at the old site.

On the other hand, environmentalists have expressed resentment over such practise in the hill station of Mussoorie.

Vipin Kumar Gupta, an environmentalist, said: “The Municipal Council is flouting rules by throwing the garbage on the roadside as it is prohibited under the Solid Waste Management Rules passed by the Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2000.” According to information, a health sanitation plan was to be carried out by the MC, which has failed to take off . Under this plan, garbage, after segregation, was to be sent to recycling units so that the town remains clean. 

Dehradun, November 30
Young players from Delhi dominated the quarterfinals of the All-India Talent Series Tennis Tournament being organised by the Uttaranchal Tennis Association at the Shanti Tennis Academy here today.

In the boys’ under-12 category, Achint Bhagat (Delhi ) beat Khush Arora (Rajasthan) 3-5, 4-2, 4-2; Shivank Bhatnagar (Delhi) beat Suhanshu Saharma (Chandigarh) 4-2, 5-3; Mohit Sahrawat (Delhi) beat Dhruv Sabbharwal (Uttarakhand) 4-1, 4-2; and Sanjit Singh Pahuja (Delhi) beat Prabhav Aggarwal (Delhi) to enter the semifinals in their age category.

In the boys’ under-14 category, Mritunjay Badola (Uttarakhand) beat Dhruv Sabbahrwal (Uttarakhand) 4-2, 4-2; Mohak Bajaj (Delhi) beat Shivank Bhatnagar (Delhi) 4-2, 4-1; Rupesh Khokhar (Haryana) beat Sanjit Singh Pahuja (Delhi) 4-1, 4-1;and Utkarsh Bhardwaj (Uttarakhand) beat Mohit Sahrawat (Delhi) 4-1, 4-2 to enter the semifinals of their category.

In the girls’ under-12 category, Nirmat Kaur Kang (Punjab) beat Ashpreet Bajwa(Chd) 6-2, 6-3 and Alisha Menon (Delhi) beat Itika Sharma (Rajasthan) 6-2, 6-0 to enter the finals of their age category.

In the girls’ under-14 category, Sachi Belwal (Uttarkhand) beat Alisha Menon (Delhi) 4-1, 4-0; Kavya Gupta (Punjab) beat Vidisha Balyan (Uttarakhand) 4-1,5-4,7-4; Sukanya Vishwas (UP) beat Anima John (UP) 4-1, 1-4, 4-1; and Arushi Kakkar (Chd) beat Nimrat Kaur Kang (Punjab) 4-1, 4-2 to enter the semifinals.

In the boys’ doubles under-14 category, Mritunjay Badola and Manik Dabar (Uttarakhand ) beat Sanjit Singh Pahuja (Punjab) and Prabhav Aggarwal (Delhi ) 8-2; Abhimanyu Rojra (Haryana ) and Rupesh Khokhar (Delhi) beat Ishan Sethi and Rohit Rawat (Uttarakhand) 8-6; Tushar Shama and Achint Bhagat (Delhi) beat Mohak Bajaj (Delhi) and Saureen Khanna (Punjab) 8-4; and Dhruv Sabhharwal and Utkarsh Bhardwaj (Uttarakhand) beat Mohit Sahrawat (Delhi) and Padam Kumar (Haryana) 8-2 to enter the semifinals.

In the girls’ doubles under-12 category, Sachi Belwal (Uttarakhand) and Arushi Kakkar (Chd) beat Itika Shama (Rajasthan) and Palak Uppal (Uttarakhand) 7-4; Ayushi Gupta and Aakriti Gupta (both Delhi) beat Khushi and Vidisha (both Uttrakhand); Nimrat Kaur Kang (Punjab) and Alisha Menon (Delhi ) beat Ashpreet Bajwa (Punjab ) and Harleen Kaur (Chd) 7-5; and Kavya Gupta (Delhi) and Sarnaya Khanna (Punjab) beat Sukanya Vishwas and Anima John (both UP) 7-5 to enter the semifinals. 

Dehradun, November 30
Institute of Technology and Management, Dehradun, won by 31 runs in its match against Jammu and Kashmir XI in the 20-20 Beehive Challengers Cricket Trophy.

Batting first, ITM scored 157 runs, losing 5 wickets in the process. For ITM, Shivam scored 46 runs not out. Amit scored valuable 42 runs. For Jammu and Kashmir XI, Akhib took 2 wickets. Faizan got 1 wicket.

Batting next, Jammu and Kashmir XI could only score 126 runs in the allotted 20 overs, thereby ensuring a 31-run victory for ITM. Izaz scored 23 runs whereas Ricky contributed 24 runs. ITM’s bowler Shahzad took 4 wickets.

Earlier, chief guest Yogendra Singh Pundir inaugurated the tournament.