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Goods worth several lakhs destroyed in fire
A fireman douses the flames at a retail godown of Jain Brothers where a fire broke out
in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
Engineering student held for killing roommate
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Strike by Gurukul Mahavidyalaya
working body members
Gurukul Mahavidyalaya executive body members stage an agitation at Gobind Ballabh Pant Park, Devpura, in Haridwar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
CID functioning being streamlined
Players in action during a tae kwon do championship in Dehradun on Sunday.
A Tribune photograph
Dehradun Diary
Heart centre begins functioning at Coronation Hospital
Dr Yoginder Singh, a cardiologist, performs an angiography at Coronation Hospital
in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
UP lifts tae kwon do trophy
Round-the-year medical camps soon
DM reviews progress of ongoing projects
Ruskin Bond meets schoolkids
Ruskin Bond gives autographs to his young fans in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
New Doon SSP hopeful of checking crime rate
Parkash Utsav of Guru Tegh Bahadar
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Goods worth several lakhs destroyed in fire
Dehradun, April 22 The welding work was being done to prepare a new metal sheet to cover the ground floor on the roof side. Truck loads of fully burnt or partly burnt synthetic wool is being cleared and sent out to a plot owned by the owner SK Jain and his four other brothers out of the city. The estimate of the loss has not been evaluated as yet but it will certainly run into several lakhs. Fortunately, no one got hurt in the massive fire as it broke out early in the morning. The news of the fire was first broken by the boys who were staying on the first floor, an extension of Oriental Hotel, who saw smoke billowing from the ground floor and created a noise. The boys, who had
come to take the SSB exam in the city from outstation, ran away from the scene with their luggage. The brothers of SK Jain, who is in Delhi, reached the site and the fire brigade vehicle too reached within 15 minutes at 9.30. By that time the entire synthetic wool had caught the fire and the entire area was covered with thick smoke. The matter became worse as the synthetic wool was kept on the tires which caught fire instantly. It was also becoming difficult for the fire fighters to control the fire as the synthetic material in the
cotton wool was not absorbing the water and was constantly smouldering. The entire ground floor was fully devastated. On the first floor, too, the walls, doors, electrical and water pipes got damaged. The connecting doors of another adjacent grocery shop on the left side had to be broken as the fire had crossed over to it through windowpanes. A chemist's shop, in close vicinity, was closed down for the sake of safety. This accident could have far-reaching consequences if it had people working on the ground floor because the exit door on the other side of the godown was blocked with generators and water tanks. The fire fighters team immediately removed them.
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Engineering student held for killing roommate
Nainital, April 22 He had been trying to mislead his friends by calling them up and telling them that he was in Hardwar. When they told him that he could not have reached Hardwar so quickly, he told them that
he was far away from Dwarahat. However, he was not aware that his cellphone had been put on surveillance by the police. On the basis of his cellphone location, the police arrested him from the Bhujan area. Shantanu was pursuing a course in biotechnology. Since his roommate, Jagrit Tyagi, a resident of Deoband in Saharanpur, had been missing since the crime, it was assumed that he had a role in the crime. On late Thursday night, Tyagi told Shantanu that he has failed in his exams. The latter asked him to pay more attention to his studies. This infuriated Tyagi and they had a verbal spat, which later turned into a physical tiff. During this, Tyagi allegedly attacked Shantanu with a knife and fled from the hostel.
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Strike by Gurukul Mahavidyalaya
working body members
Haridwar, April 22 Led by vice chief of the working body Bijendra Singh Chauhan, these members alleged that multi-crore fraud has taken place by selling property coming under Gurukul Mahvidyalaya to land mafia way below the current market price. Chauhan, sitting on agitation at Pandit Gobind Ballabh Pant Park at Devpura, also demanded immediate termination of chief proctor and cashier of the educational institute, who played a key role in executing this land deal. Dr Vijay Verma pointed out that in Haridwar most of the educational institutes, dharamshalas, ashrams have come up on donated land; so it is imperative that commercial use or selling of this land meant for socio-religious aspects does not take place. A memorandum has also been submitted to the district administration in this regard by the agitators who have also warned of intensifying their agitation if in the coming days no action is taken against the violators. Social activist Sanjeev Chaudhari, who recently sat on an 11-day agitation for the cause of the holy Ganga, said that such cases are cropping up as was the Kushavrat ghat-Ahilya Bai Holkar dharmashala selling case. He expressed unhappiness that the religious-spiritual-Vedic education image of the pilgrim city is getting affected due to such illegal acts, and the government needs to make stringent laws to curb such practices. Though Dr Yashwant Singh, chief proctor of Gurukul Mahavidyalaya, termed the allegations as untrue, saying that he is ready for any neutral investigation, he said that during his tenure he has taken every step to maintain the dignity of this educational institute.
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CID functioning being streamlined
Dehradun, April 22 The aspirants are flocking for the interviews. More than 400 have appeared for the posts of constable. Similar enthusiasm is seen for the rest of the positions as well. The new teams will be in place by the end of April. A vehicle will be allotted to two teams and a laptop for each team besides the other modern gadgetry, which will be funded under the Police Modernisation Scheme aided by Central and state governments. Additional Director General, CID, BS Sidhu said:"I want my team to be young and tech-savvy. Those who were born post 1990 and are computer literate will be hired for various positions in the teams. The head constables who generally carry the tasks of recording and writing will be selected among those who had proficiently been handling this work in various police-stations or various courts." He said until now, only one inspector would carry the entire load of investigating and submitting the case report and had no team as such. This used to expose him to various pressures from those involved in the legal cases and, also pathetically slowed down the pace of the case. In a nutshell, it would tell upon the merit of the case. Sidhu said:" Since the investigation has to be completed and chargesheet has to be submitted within 60 days of an arrest, in absence of which the culprits can avail benefit of bail; so most of the time accused would go scot-free on bail. The investigation and chargesheet would not be completed within the given time frame." He further added that once out on bail, the accused would ta emper with evidence and use his influence or threaten the witness. In a way, the tardy pace of investigation changed the entire course of the cases and hampered justice. He said, with the new teams, the responsibilities would be justly divided and chances of extraneous pressure will also minimise. The work will accelerate, as they will be equipped with gadgets and vehicles. Sidhu has been instrumental in sprucing up and activating the lackadaisical CID of the state. Within eight months of taking charge since August last year, he has solved 85 cases out of total 130, which had been lying in cold storage for past three years. Unlike Uttar Pardesh and many other states which have separate wings to investigate anti-corruption cases, official enquiries and economic offences, CID in Uttarakhand covers them all. It is in last few months, the department had solved many sensational cases in an quick span such as Rudrapur riots and those where the role of police personnel was under scanner. In one such case, it was for the first time, a police personnel, station officer of Khankhal, Haridwar, was booked under dacoity for exchanging money in a high profile land case. Similarly, three police personnel were suspended for allegedly thrashing an accused after pouncing upon him in public to extract a confession.
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Power projects land CM in a row
The controversy over the construction of hydro electric projects on the rivers of Uttarakhand has again erupted with a firm stand taken by new Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on re-starting the stalled hydro-power projects in the state. Vijay Bahuguna, soon after taking over the reigns of the state, had categorically stated that he was for harnessing hydro electric potential of the state's rivers, besides taking care of the environmental concerns attached with such projects. He reiterated his stand at the meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 17 in New Delhi. He pleaded that all stalled hydro-power projects in the state should be allowed, including the ones which had been stopped midway incurring a lot of expenditure. His argument was that it was impossible to grow and develop Uttarakhand without harnessing its natural potential. Giving the example of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, Bahuguna said while Himachal Pradesh had been selling power, Uttarakhand having the same resources had been compelled to buy 150 MW power every month to meet the ever-growing power needs of the state. The firm commitment by the Chief Minister has left the right wing Hindu groups and environmentalists opposing the hydro electric projects fuming. Interestingly, it was in 2008 that Prof GD Agarwal, a former IIT, Kanpur alumnus, started an agitation against the construction of hydro electric projects on the Bhagirathi from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi. He argued that the Bhagirathi which flows down the plains of the country as the Ganga would be polluted by such projects, hurting the sentiments of the Hindu community. Right wing Hindu groups, particularly owing allegiance to the RSS and the BJP, also supported him. The then Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri although reluctantly succumbed to the pressure and stopped two of its hydro electric projects of Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati on the Bhagirathi. The Union Government, fearing a backlash before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, also decided to stop work on the Lohari Nagpala Project built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). A 135-km-long stretch from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi was also declared as an eco-sensitive zone. As there was no clarity on other power projects by the state government, pressure by the environmental groups started mounting to stall all bigger hydro electric projects in the state, particularly on the tributaries of the Ganga. The local people who were directly affected by such projects came out on the roads in support of these projects. While, politicians, saints and environmentalists were busy hogging the limelight by arguing for and against the projects, the common people, particularly in Chamoli and Uttarkashi, took to roads. They feared that stoppage of hydro electric projects would render them jobless and their areas would be devoid of the developmental benefits to be brought by such projects. The stand taken by Bahuguna has even divided the opposition BJP and the RSS. Former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, an old RSS hand, has come out in favour of projects with some riders. Similarly, Tarun Vijay, national BJP spokesperson and RSS ideologue, has openly come out in favour of the hydro electric projects for the development of the state. The state having a potential of more than 40,000 MW of hydro electric power has failed to utilise these resources, having a mere 1356 MW of power production from state-owned projects. The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar faction) has also decided to start an agitation against all those saints opposing the hydro electric projects. Trivendra Singh Panwar, UKD(P) president, charged that most of the saints opposing such projects were outsiders, a charge also levelled by Bahuguna. A large number of intellectuals also argued that there should be a balance between the environmental concern and the developmental needs of the growing state. Awdhash Kaushal, chairperson of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a voluntary group who also sat on a dharna in support for hydro electric projects, argued that hydro electric power was a green source of energy and the people of Uttarakhand could not be deprived of the fruits of development. He also has a word of advise for the saints and environmentalists that most of the ashrams are built on the banks of the Ganga and sewage of these ashrams gets into the holy river. Secondly, there should be serious efforts to have electric crematoriums so that half-burnt bodies are not consigned to the Ganga thus polluting it. While the meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority remained inconclusive, it was for the first time that the Uttarkhand leadership has come out openly in favour of hydro electric projects. The politics of hydro electric projects has also deepened the fissures in the faction-ridden ruling Congress in the state. After Vijay Bahuguna openly came in favour of the hydro electric projects, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Food Processing and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, who is still licking his wounds after being denied the post of Chief Minister, wrote a letter stating his position opposing bigger hydro-electric projects in the state. He was invited by the Chief Minister at a meeting of all MPs from Uttarakhand to arrive at a consensus on the issue before the meeting of the Ganga River basin Auithority. Harish Rawat could not attend the meeting but instead wrote a letter stating his stand on the issue. But this also triggered a war of words between both factions. Bahuguna faction alleged that the stand taken by Harish Rawat amounted to indiscipline while Harish Rawat supporters lashed out at the Bahuguna faction. (By SMA Kazmi)
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Heart centre begins functioning at Coronation Hospital
Dehradun, April 22 The hospital had already started carrying out
OPD, TMT (stress test), blood test and ECG, but the process was stopped midway in view of the construction under way at the facility. But four days ago, senior consultant cardiologist Dr Yogender Singh carried out the first
angiography, a angioplasty and inserted a pace maker. “We hope to start bypass surgeries by April-end. These will be undertaken by a senior doctor. We have seven beds and a staff of seven resident doctors,” said Dr Yogender Singh. The facility at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (Coronation) Hospital would be the first comprehensive cardiac-care facility in
Dehradun. Under the terms of the agreement, Fortis will invest in infrastructure and technology as the hospital building is already provided. The facility is being run under the public-private partnership mode. According to the terms of the agreement, free OPD is being provided till 2 pm while the charge of paid OPD that starts after 2 pm onwards has been fixed at Rs 300 per patient valid for three visits.
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UP lifts tae kwon do trophy
Dehradun, April 22 Among major medal winners in the final today included Prabhjot Singh, who won the gold in feather weight men’s category. Mohammed Kabir Khan of Manipur won gold in middle weight section. Sakhi won the gold in light weight women’s section. Prince of Haryana won the gold in Bantam weight category. Uttarakhand Congress Narendra Nagar MLA Subodh Uniyal handed over the prizes to the winners. While congratulating the winners, Subodh Uniyal said tae kwon do as marshal art has grown much in popularity. He said Uttarakhand Congress was committed to promotion of sport activities in the country. Uttarakhand State Tae kwon do Association president Suryakant Dhasmana in his address referred to the activities being undertaken by Uttarakhand State Tae kwon do Association. He said All India Tae kwon do Federation Cup has been a big success.
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Round-the-year medical camps soon
Dehradun, April 22 At a meeting with Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and doctors of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the Health Minister said at least 27 camps should be held in the areas where there was shortage of doctors. "We have been holding health camps in a haphazard manner. It is time that these are organized properly. We will soon appoint a nodal officer for monitoring these camps," he said. The minister said during the camps, the patients will be diagnosed, given medicines and those with chronic diseases admitted at the hospital. "We are seeking cooperation from government doctors," he said.
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DM reviews progress of ongoing projects
Dehradun, April 22 Raman directed them to complete all formalities of tender work with regard to schemes under district planning so that the budget could be approved. He reviewed the progress of the ongoing projects under various departments. He directed the officials to hold such a review meeting once in every month. He said it must be ensured that the benefits of the development schemes reach far-flung rural areas. He directed officials not to delay action on the preliminary stage of the approved projects and be quick in preparing a detailed working plan on these schemes. He also instructed to create a better coordination with regard to city-based schemes with those launched under Derhadun Municipal Corporation.
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Ruskin Bond meets schoolkids
Dehradun, April 22 Later answering questions posed by the children, Bond ensured that the importance of reading habits was not lost on them. “The written word still gives me joy and the pleasure of holding a book in the hands is immensely satisfying,” he stressed. Upendra Arora of Green Book Shop said the reading session with Rusking Bond was held primarily to attract young readers.
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New Doon SSP hopeful of checking crime rate
Dehradun April 22 She said petty
crimes such as chain snatching and thefts could not be checked by the police alone. The participation of public is must for it, she added. On the issue where former SSP GN Goswami had issued orders to SHOs of various police posts to remain in field from 10 am to 2 at night, she said police personnel would also be given rest in between to carry out their duties well. On the issue of reports about anomalies in the investigation of some cases, she refused to comment saying she would first go through the cases before making any
comment.
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Parkash Utsav of Guru Tegh Bahadar
Dehradun, April 22 Bhai Rohtash Singh threw light on the life-sketch of the Guru, saying that Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib sacrificed his life at Chandni Chowk, Delhi, to protect the Hindu religion.
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Dehradun, April 22
Multi-crore fraud in sale of property to mafia alleged
Dehradun, April 22
After a long wait, Fortis Escorts Heart Centre at Coronation Hospital has started conducting diagnostic procedures comprising angiography and angioplasty.
Inordinate delay in vacating the premises by the GVK 108 EMR emergency services had put brakes on the Fortis Escorts Heart Centre facility, which was expected to begin functioning in 2011.
It was a pretty hectic session for famous writer Ruskin Bond as he went on a autograph signing spree on World Book Day observed at Natraj Green Book Shop.
Bond shared his experiences with schoolchildren who had come from different schools of the city. An announcement by Ruskin Bond that the serial, “Ek Tha Rusty –II, based on one of his characters, will be back on television elicited a positive response from them.
