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Traffic jams inconvenience public
Anti-encroachment Drive
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Design to upgrade existing Doon Hospital approved
A view of Doon Hospital.
GM (Roadways) inspects bus station
face of the week
Surendra Mehra
Rs 2.5 crore for Piran Kaliyar shrine
Flutist Majumdar mesmerises
Umang, Manu steer DBCA to victory
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Traffic jams inconvenience public Tribune News Service
Dehradun, April 7 Starting from Haridwar Road situated near the Doon Auto Rickshaw Union office, the rallyists proceeded towards Ashley Hall, Rajpur Road route, before culminating their rally at Dehradun district headquarters, where a protest meeting was held. Addressing the gathering, Dhan Singh Rana, general secretary, Doon Auto Rickshaw Union, said by asking auto drivers for clearing the refresher course, the Transport Department was unnecessarily wasting their time. "We already have driving licences and forcing us to undertake a refresher course for renewal of these licences was totally unjustified," Rana said. He held that there should be no refresher course for drivers, who are already in possession of driving licences. Rana said the Transport Department must take the Auto Drivers' Union into confidence before taking any major policy decision. The protesters also took the opportunity to raise the issue of prices of new number plates being charged in Uttarakhand. They said while number plates are available in Karnataka at a price ranging from Rs 90 to Rs 110, in Uttarakhand it was as high as Rs 300 to Rs 600. Meanwhile, Doon Auto Rickshaw Union rally caused great inconvenience to the general public as it resulted in traffic jams at Haridwar Road and Rajpur Road. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has extended support to the ongoing agitation of Doon auto rickshaw drivers against starting of the refresher course. CPI (M) district secretary Surendra Singh Sajwan said making refresher course necessary for renewal of driving licences for auto rickshaw drivers was aimed at harassing the drivers.
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Slum dwellers want rehabilitation
Tribune News Service
Haridwar, April 7 The march began from Har-ki-Pauri and culminated at the Mayapur camp office of the department. It had been taken out under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Kranti Manch.
The protesters, who belong to the Lalji Wala, Pandey Basti, Bhimgoda, Neeldhara and Rodi Belwala areas, demanded that either the authorities make arrangements for their rehabilitation or also demolish illegal commercial buildings that had been constructed by politicians and businessmen on land belonging to the department. Leading the protesters, Pandey said these poor people had been living at these places for the past six-eight years. They had ration cards, electricity and water connections and even casted votes in the recent Assembly elections. “The land is barren. These poor people are living in makeshift tents there and causing no harm to anything,” said Pandey. Social activist Meera Raturi also lashed out at department officials for carrying out the anti-encroachment drive to “gain monetary benefits”. She also alleged a nexus between the department and builder mafia, which has illegally occupied the department’s land for commercial use. The protesters also submitted a memorandum to City Magistrate Hansa Dutt Pandey and threatened that they would intensify their agitation if the anti-encroachment drive was not stopped immediately. DD Dalakoti, executive engineer, Irrigation Department, said these slum dwellers had constructed their residential structures illegally so the department had to take this step. He said they would also look into the allegation of illegal commercial buildings built on the department’s land.
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Design to upgrade existing Doon Hospital approved
Dehradun, April 7 The plan for the medical college entails the amalgamation of the existing Doon Hospital and Women’s Hospital to a 750-bed hospital and the construction of a medical college on the jail premises on the Haridwar road, to be connected through the subway. Once the land on the Haridwar road was transferred to the medical education department, the construction activity gained momentum, but another challenge remained, which was upgrading the functioning of Doon Hospital. “After several sessions with the design consultants for the Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, it has been decided not to pull down the existing building that houses the hospital but designate it as a heritage building and then use retrofitting technique for expanding it to a six storied building,” said Vinita Kumar, Principal Secretary, Medical Education. Besides, the Uttarakhand government has also enhanced the budget for the medical college from Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore and is hopeful of completing the project in the coming two years. “Since the days of the BJP government, the issue of pulling down the existing building of the Doon Hospital and then coming up with a new construction was also discussed but it was rejected, as the functioning of the hospital would have hampered. Now without affecting the work, the upgrading of would be carried out,” said Dr RP Bhatt, Additional Director, Medical Education. After dillydallying for the past four years, the prestigious project has finally begun to take shape. However, there are several hurdles remaining, such as the allocation of the parking space. While the authorities are also in talks with the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) for allocating the space for parking at it’s premises, other options are also being looked into.
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GM (Roadways) inspects bus station
Haridwar, April 7 General Manager, Roadways, Ashish Kumar, inspected the bus station and roadways workshop yesterday giving specific directions to the subordinates. Kumar also took stock of the facilities provided at the bus station, ticket counters, toilets, canteen and cleanliness, while also listened to the views of the passengers. Meanwhile, with Haridwar bus depot getting ten new buses, the depot officials were now busy in chalking out the routes of these buses. In view of the rush on the Paonta Sahib-Shimla route, one of the buses is being plied on the Haridwar-Shimla route via Paonta Sahib. Notably, two buses are already being plied by local depot to Shimla. This, however, is the lone one which passes through Paonta Sahib.
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Man-animal conflict Mehra’s forte
Jotirmay Thapliyal Tribune News Service
Dehradun, April 7 Mehra has learnt a lot from his posting at both of these wildlife reserves, which gave him a first-hand experience of dealing with the man-animal conflicts. A 1999-batch pass out, Indian Forest Service officer from Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun, Mehra did his BTech from Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra, Haryana, in 1995 and was selected for the Indian Engineering Services the same year. He worked as the Assistant Director in Central Electricity Authority, New Delhi, before getting through with the IFS. Currently in deputation at the Central Academy of State Forest Service College, Mehra served as the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Haldwani, Jim Corbett National Park and Rajaji National Park. At Rajaji, Mehra came across the worst form of the man-elephant conflict at the villages in periphery of the park. He was also a part of the Gujjar rehabilitation process at Rajaji, which was the biggest challenge of its time before the state forest authorities. Similarly in Corbett, where a major population of tiger thrives, Mehra came across various incidents of man-tiger conflicts, which he faced efficiently. His inclination towards wildlife also made him go for a PG Diploma in Wildlife Management from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, in the year 2006-07. Taking into account his vast experience of dealing with the wildlife, Mehra has recently come up with a book on the wildlife laws. Titled ‘Study and practice of wildlife laws in India’, the book focuses on the wildlife law enforcement in India. It explains various interpretations and legalities pertaining to the Indian wildlife laws. He has also authored a book ‘Legal Forestry’ published in 2004. He received the Uttaranchal State Forestry Award in 2003 for excellence in the civil services reforms. His field of interest continues to be the wildlife management, legal issues in forest and wildlife, information technology, GIS and remote sensing and wildlife photography.
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Rs 2.5 crore for Piran Kaliyar shrine
Dehradun, April 7 He was speaking at a function after paying obeisance at a Sufi shrine at Piran Kaliyar today. He also announced a grant of Rs 2.5 crore for the shrine and assured to provide all necessary facilities to the pilgrims visiting the shrine. He said efforts would also be made to get additional money for the development of infrastructure from the Central government. Bahuguna further said a master plan would be made for the overall development of the Piran Kaliyar area. He said Rs 5.95 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of Haj house at Piran Kaliyar and the remaining Rs 3.18 crore would also be released soon. Bahuguna emphasised that Uttarakhand symbolised communal harmony as the revered Char Dham, Hemkund Sahib and Piran Kaliyar shrines are located here. “We are committed to the welfare of the minorities in the state and a separate minority’s welfare department would soon start functioning in the state,” he added.
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Flutist Majumdar mesmerises
Dehradun, April 7 He was performing at a concert organised by the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst the Youth (SPICMACAY). Interacting with the students, the famous flutist recounted his internship days under the tutelage of his father, Dr Bhanu Majumdar, and then Pt Vijay Raghav Rao. “Growing up in Varanasi, it was difficult not to fall in love with music. My father ensured I was taught the basics of music at home,” he said. Majumdar received the Grammy nominations for his work on the album Tabula Rasa with Bela Fleck, the American Banjo virtuoso. Majumdar has also recorded the famous album titled “Passages” with Pt Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass. He has also recorded with Zakir Hussain and Ustad Sultan Khan on the 1994 Merchant Ivory film “In Custody”. In 2002, Ronu joined Michael Stipe of REM, Robbie Williams.
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Umang, Manu steer DBCA to victory
Dehradun, April 7 Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the DBCA scored 256 runs, losing all wickets in process.
Umang Sharma scored highest 64 runs followed by Manu Kumar who contributed the same score of 64 runs. Rohit Negi and Arvind Sajwan of Doon Tiger took two wickets. Chasing the target, the Doon Tiger team was all out at a score of 228 runs, thereby ensuring a 28-run victory for DBCA. Hitesh Tyagi’s spirited 122 runs could not ensure Doon Tiger’s victory. Ravinder of DBCA took three wickets in his six-over spell. Manu Kumar and Manish Sharma took two wickets each.
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Dehradun, April 7
The Uttarakhand government has finally approved the design to upgrade the existing Doon District Hospital into a medical college. The cost has been tentatively pegged at Rs 300 crore in the coming two years.
The plan for the medical college entails the amalgamation of the existing Doon Hospital and Women’s Hospital to a 750-bed hospital and the construction of a medical college on the jail premises on the Haridwar road, to be connected through the subway.
An Uttarakhand cadre Indian Forest Service officer Surendra Mehra has to be credited serving in two important protected wildlife areas of the state- Rajaji National Park and Jim Corbett National Park. While Rajaji is known of its elephants, the tiger-famous Corbett too is famous for its rich wildlife. The two parks have also seen the worst of the man-animal conflicts in the past one decade.
Dehradun, April 7
Dev Bhumi Cricket Academy (DBCA), Haldwani, won by 28 runs against Doon Tiger in the semi final match of 4th Uttarakhand Cricket Cup here today.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the DBCA scored 256 runs, losing all wickets in process.
