Rs 87 cr for roads, bridges
Dehradun, December 15
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a loan of Rs 87.13 crore for the construction and renovation of 98 rural roads and seven bridge projects and a loan of Rs 37.40 crore for the construction and renovation of 81 minor irrigation projects under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)- XVII for this financial year.

Virasat to begin on Dec 19
Dehradun, December 15
The popular Afro-Asian Art and Craft Cultural extravaganza, “Virasat”, will begin on December 19 at the Ambedkar Stadium here.

Dehradun, December 15
The fire tragedy at AMRI Hospital (Kolkata) should act as a wake-up call for the authorities as not only the top three government hospitals, along with a majority of private nursing homes, in the capital lack adequate fire safety measures, but these have also been functioning without the mandatory fire clearance from the fire safety office.

In the name of the fire safety system, Doon Hospital possesses antiquated fire extinguishers and sand buckets, a legacy of the pre-independence India. “Both male and female hospitals do not possess no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the Fire Department. Same is the case in most of the private clinics and Mahant Indresh Hospital,” said Chandan Singh, Chief Fire Officer (Dehradun).

As the two hospitals were built in the pre-independence era, they do not conform to the National Building Code (NBC) that stipulates making provisions for fire safety and earthquake safety norms.

In abject disregard for fire safety norms, even Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Coronation Hospital that was built a few years ago too has also failed to get the NOC from the Fire Safety Office.

Only the Combined Medical Institute (CMI), a private hospital, has the NOC from the Fire Department that too is awaiting renewal.

According to the fire safety rules, there should be mandatory fire exits on every floor with wide stairways and fire-fighting equipment should be installed at every level and alternative exits together with ramps for the patients.

“Since the fire extinguishers have not been in use for several years now, nobody knows if these are functional,” said the staff member of Doon Hospital.

In the aftermath of the AMRI tragedy, fire officials say none of the hospitals or private clinics approached them for carrying out fire safety measures.

“We will be shortly holding a meeting with the hospital authorities so that they take up prior safety measures,” said Jena.

When the Tribune correspondent asked the CMS of Doon Hospital about the fire safety mechanism at the hospital, he said it had not been refurbished.

“I will soon hold talks with the fire safety officials to chalk out a strategy. I think our nurses and doctors are trained in following disaster management protocols but this tragedy has alerted us,” he said.

Dehradun , December 15
Chief Minister Major General (Retd) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri inaugurated a computing software project dedicated to the task of disbursement of old-age pension of the Social Welfare Department in the state, at a programme held at the secretariat here today.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Khanduri said that the new provision would bring about transparency in maintenance of details of the pension amounts. He said that the new software would also ensure timely and expeditious disbursement of pensions among all eligible beneficiaries. He said that the state government was committed to the welfare of pensioners in the state and was taking all steps to ensure that the eligible beneficiaries got their pension in time.

The Chief Minister said that the significant initiative was a major step forward towards promoting a culture of good governance, clean and transparent administration and accountability in the state. He said that the pensioners would now not have to make repeated rounds of the offices and other camps to get their pensions. The beneficiaries would be able to see the details of the pension online on the website. In addition, he said the software and other online procedures would help in checking erroneous payments such as double payments and payment of any amount to a non-beneficiary.

The Chief Minister expressed the hope that the system would directly benefit the common man as well as the users of the software. He directed that training programmes be conducted for the sake of employees of the concerned departments and make them proficient in the use of this software.

On the occasion, Principal Secretary, Social Welfare Department, S. Raju, said that the pensioners would have to open bank accounts in nearby bank branches to avail the scheme.

It may be mentioned that the Social Welfare Department is the nodal department for implementing the computing software for pension disbursal in the state, while the NIC has prepared the software and would provide technical support in the matter. According to NIC officials present on the occasion, the software is fully secured and user friendly. 

Dehradun, December 15
The popular Afro-Asian Art and Craft Cultural extravaganza, “Virasat”, will begin on December 19 at the Ambedkar Stadium here.

The fortnight-long festival, organised by the Rural Entrepreneurship for Art and Culture (REACH) will consist of music and dance performances of renowned artistes from across the country as well as participation of award-winning artisans who will display their crafts for sale.

For more than a decade and a half, the REACH has been organising, among other events, Virasat, the largest Arts & Crafts festival at Dehradun. This year, Virasat will play a host to artists from across the country.

Doonites will have the opportunity to listen to Quwwalis by the Warsi brothers, Sitar recitals by stalwarts like Ustad Shahid Parvez and vocal recitals by Dilraj Kaur, Manoj Tiwari and the Wadali Brothers. Troupes from the North-Eastern part of the country will also present choir singing and dances from their states.

In at least 150 stalls put up, there will be Phoolkari items created by Lajwanti Devi of Patiala, Terracota items by Mamchand of Chandigarh, Khurja Pottery by Raisuddin and for the first time ever, Terracota Jewellery made by Tapan of Calcutta. There will also be the best of Banarasi fabrics and natural colour and woollen fabrics. “An added attraction this year will be live demonstration by artisans. 

Dehradun, December 15
As part of a nationwide strike, BSNL employees in Dehradun today boycotted work.

BSNL employees staged a dharna outside their office at Windlass Complex, Rajpur Road. Led by SS Rauthan, state secretary of the Telecom Employees Association, Uttarakhand , the BSNL employees rented the air with slogans against the Central Government.

The employees strongly opposed the voluntary retirement scheme pledging to oppose it tooth and nail. They also sought reinstatement of medical allowance, leave encashment and leave travel allowance for the employees.

The protesters even sought dissolution of the Telecom Advisory Committee describing it an unnecessary wastage of funds. RS Kathait, Anand Bihar Lal, JP Kothari, Banwari Lal Yadav and Kishore Lal Chamoli were prominent among the protesters. 

Dehradun, December 15
Dehradun-based Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) has submitted the macro Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study report conducted in the mine areas in Chitradurga and Tumkur districts of Karnataka.

The ICFRE has completed the macro EIA study as directed by the Supreme Court and submitted the report for Chitradurga and Tumkur districts of Karnataka. According to KP Singh, publicity and liaison officer, the extensive study has been successfully completed in close coordination with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehra Dun, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehra Dun, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad.

The study has contributed to assess the impact due to rampant mining on land use changes, fragmentation, terrestrial floral and faunal diversity, aquatic diversity and soil micro flora. The detailed study with reference to various environmental parameters, including the air, noise and watershed, has contributed to assess the environmental units in the district. 

Dehradun, December 15
Hundreds of homeless persons under the banner of Beghar Andolan Samiti staged a protest in front of the state Assembly to press for their demands for houses to all the homeless of the state.

President of the samiti Dheerak Bhardwaj announced that he had started an indefinite fast to press for the demand today. In a memorandum addressed to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Bhardwaj alleged that the samiti had started a protest on August 19 and were assured by the administration that their demands would be looked into. However, he said the state government had now assured of giving houses only to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. He said the samiti had been demanding houses for all homeless people in the state. 

Dehradun, December 15
The Christmas spirit dawned early this year as St Joseph’s Academy organised a gala festive function on Wednesday in which children from several schools presented scintillating songs and dances.

But the more important was the presence of students from schools run by voluntary organisations for children from deprived families. These children were given gifts by the students of St. Joseph’s Academy and other philanthropic citizens. Members from the Prem Dham, a home of senior citizens, were also given gifts.

The programme commenced with the school choir singing the popular carols “Joy to the world” and “O, come all ye faithful”. A variety of rhythmic renditions of Christmas carols and dance performances were presented by the students of different schools.

A Hindi play “Messiah” was also performed by SJA students. The participating schools included St. Ann Mary, St. Paul’s, Carman, Patrician College, St. Xavier’s, Moravian, Hilton’s, St. Jude, St. Agnes, Convent of Jesus & Mary.

Dr DK Arora of St. Ann Mary gave a brief speech with a message that if “the man is good, the world will be good”. Principal Bro AJ George felt elated at the success of the function. Bro. George has increasingly been taking a proactive interest in providing special after school education to the children from the poor and deprived families.

Dehradun, December 15
Christmas and Grandparents’ Day was celebrated at Aryan School, Mussoorie diversion road, with great pomp and show. The function started with pin board and Christmas tree decoration competition.

Dr Mathew Ebenezer, professor of church history at the New Theological college, Dehradun, was the chief guest on the occasion. He served as vice acting professor of Presby Therian Theological Seminary, Dehradun, for several years.

Children performed a cultural programme, which was dedicated to their grantparents. The songs recited on the occasion included “Dada dadi” and “Mere dada ne ek kahani sunai thi.” There was a Christmas carols competition between various houses of the school. Yajur house came first in carol singing “Peace on earth,” followed by Athaerva house, which sang “Christmas Love.” Rig house stood third.

During the function Santa Claus distributed gifts among students and blessed all the teachers.

After the function, all the grandparents had lunch in the school. On the occasion, Principal Cherry Jain and vice chairman of the school Sunny Gupta were present along with the staff members. 

Dehradun, December 15
On the second day of the international symposium on recent advances in clinical disorders under way at the Sri Guru Ram Rai Institute (SGRR) of Medical and Health Sciences, papers on advances made in the area of paediatrics, medicine, surgery and gynaecology were presented.

In the morning, Dr Paul Harrison of Kansas University presented his paper on clinical approach to thoracic trauma. Dr Amit Verma, Medicine, Head of Mahant Indresh Hospital, shed light on the topic of thyro diabetes in Uttarakhand. While Dr Sylvia Orozko, MD, University of Kansas, the USA, threw light on the management of sepsis.

The students of SGRR Institute of Medical and Health Sciences attended the symposium.

Meanwhile, Dr Priyanka Vikas Kashyap has taken over as the neuro physician (superspecialist) at Mahant Indresh Hospital. This is expected to strengthen the medicine department and provide services to the patients suffering from migraine and movement disorders. Mahant Indresh Hospital is part of SGRR Institute of Medical and Health Sciences.

Dehradun, December 15
In order to help the artisans access better marketing facilities by improving the quality of their products, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) yesterday organised a workshop on quality compliance.

Deputy Director of EPCH AD Dhobal said the ISO certification would help the artisans market their products abroad easily. He also apprised the artisans of the packaging and marketing aspect of the products that is helpful in catching the attention of the buyers.

“The key to maintaining a long-term relationship with the buyers is by carrying out repeated innovation and maintaining consistency in quality,” said Dhobal.

Dehradun, December 15
The Wills Youth Club and the Akranta Club stormed into the semifinal of the Abhishek Dabral Memorial Football Tournament being played at Surver Stadium here.

In the first quarterfinal match played today, the Wills Youth Club defeated the Doon valley Club 3-0 to enter the last four of the tournament.

The Wills Youth Club dominated the game from the very beginning but could score their first goal in the 39th minute through Shyam Thapa. Mohit Thapa scored two more goals in the 53rd and 55th minutes to seal the fate of the Doon Valley Club.

In the second quarterfinal match, the Akranta Club trounced Tapowan XI by 5-1 to reach the semifinal of the tournament. It was Tapowan XI which took the lead when Ankit scored a solo goal in the second minute of the game. But it did not took much time for Akranta players to pull up their socks. It was in the 14th minute that Rahul scored the equaliser for the Akranta Club.

Since the Akranta Club went on the offensive and scored four more goals in the match. The second goal was scored by Shambhu in the 17th minute followed by Rahul who scored his second goal of the match in the 37th minute.

Now it was the turn of Shambhu, who also scored his second goal of the match in the 51st minute. The last goal in the 55th minute for the Akranta Club was scored by Vaibhav to make the score 5-1 in favour of his team.

Dehradun, Decemer 14
Dehradun team of boys and girls have been selected to participate in the Uttarakhand Youth Volleyball Championship scheduled to be held at Almora from December 20 to 22 by the Uttarakhand Volleyball Association during the trails held at Parade Ground here today.

The members of the boys’ team include, Abhilash Thakur, Manoj Kumar Singh, Asish Kumar, Gaurav Kumar, Sagar Singh, Amit Kumar, Manish Kumar, Amit, Sachin Kumar, Avinash Sharma, Manoj, Vinay Vishwakarma, Gaurav, Goldy, Faizan and Om Parkash. The members of the girls’ team are Anjali Chaudhary, Sunita, Anita Singh, Renuka Rawat, Shivani Rawat, Nitu Rawat, Kiran Thapa, Surabhi Thapa, Shivani Sonkar, Neha Parjapati, Shalini Negi, Rajni Dhiman, Meghna Thapa and Aanchal.

Dehradun, December 15
Swati, Bhawna and Vinita, all three women table tennis players, were felicitated for their performance at the 37th National Sports Festival held at Ranchi, Jharkhand, here today.

The three players from Uttarakhand won the bronze medal at the sports festival that concluded on December 1, 2011.

Ashok Wasu, honourary secretary of the Uttarakhan Table Tennis Association, felicitated the players at a function held here today. In the 37th sports festival for women, these players from Uttarakhand beat Gujarat in the pre-quarter finals and beat Punjab in the quarterfinals to reach the last four of the tournament. The team lost to Tamil Nadu in the semifinals but were able to win the third place. Ashok Wasu congratulated the team members for their spirited performance and wished them luck for the future.

Dehradun, December 15
The Sai Institute Cricket team defeated the Amba XI by seven wickets in a match in the Twenty20 Beehive Challengers Cup Cricket Tournament played at Matawala Bagh Ground here today.

The Amba XI won the toss and elected to bat first. The team scored 132 runs all out in their allotted 20 overs. Shubham and Deepak scored 28 runs each for the Amba XI team. Aquib took three wickets for 15 runs while Vinay snatched three wickets for 15 runs for the Sai Institute team. In reply, the Sai Institute team scored the required 132 runs losing only four wickets. Opener Aadil was the top scorer who scored 50 runs in 38 balls to steer his team to victory. Deepak took three wickets for 18 runs for the Amba XI.