Dehradun, April 24
The Uttarakhand government today gave a go-ahead to several amendments to the Transfer Act introduced on the suggestions of employees’ unions, making it more flexible for the employees not in the pink of health, those with 40 per cent disability and women falling under certain categories, to seek exemption from transfer to remote and inaccessible areas of the state.

Chief Secretary Subash Kumar said at a Cabinet meeting here today that the amended Act would become effective from May 5 when the roster of employees for transfers would be in place and the last date for carrying out transfers would be June 30.

“Transfers of employees were put on hold after several employees’ unions expressed apprehensions about the Act. A committee headed by Revenue Minister Yashpal Arya had then held meetings with the leaders of the unions who suggested amendments to the Transfer Act,” said Subash Kumar at a media briefing.

According to the old Transfer Act, the employees having undergone angioplasty, kidney transplant and having other serious diseases mentioned in the Act could seek exemption from transfer to remote and inaccessible areas. However, on the suggestion of the employees’ unions a new provision had been introduced as part of the amendments to the Transfer Act.

“Now, an employee suffering from even less serious disease can approach the State Medical Board for exemption from transfer to remote areas. Depending on the recommendation of the board, a committee on transfers headed by the Chief Secretary will take the final call on the case. The committee is part of the Act,” said Utpal Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary (Personnel).

“This amendment has also been introduced to define the degree of disability of an employee. Employees with 40 per cent disability and who do not want transfer to remote and inaccessible areas could also represent their cases before the State Medical Board for exemption from transfer,” said Utpal.

Besides, women employees, who are widows or have been deserted, could hope to stay in the place of their choice. And those who were more than 50 years of age and male employees who were 55 years or above and had two years of service left for retirement too could apply for transfer to a place of their choice.

Further, according to the amendment, the period of four years for transfer to remote areas had been reduced to three yeas. Similarly, the period of transfer to accessible areas had been reduced to four years from five years.

The Cabinet also rationalised the amended parameters for defining accessible and inaccessible areas in the state. If a place in the hill areas had a metalled road within half a kilometer, it would be considered accessible for the posting of an employee. And if a place in the hill areas had a pucca road beyond half a kilometre, it would be considered inaccessible.

Similarly, if a place in the plains had a metalled road within 2 km, it would be considered accessible for the posting of an employee and inaccessible beyond 2 km.

Dehradun, April 24
Hoping to mop up a revenue of Rs 993 crore for this financial year through the sale of liquor, today decided to continue with most of the provisions of the BJP government's excise policy.

"We have adopted the previous government's excise policy, whereby vends would be distributed through the lottery system but we have liberalised the licence regime by introducing the online system for procuring bar licences, said Subash Kumar, Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand Government.

At a press briefing today after the Cabinet meeting, Subash Kumar said the Cabinet had in principle agreed to incorporate suggestions of a committee, headed by Finance Minister Indira Hriyadesh, constituted to suggest ways to increase revenue and rationalise rates of liquor being sold in the state.

"The committee has been mandated to look into ways for increasing the liquor sale, to curb smuggling of liquor from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh as the liquor prices are cheap in these states, in comparison with Uttarakhand. The committee will give its recommendation by September-end so that these recommendations could be incorporated in the new excise policy for the next financial year," said Kumar.

In another decision, the government decided to extend the tenure of government-administered committees and of the administrators in the state cooperatives in consonance with the amendments (2011) brought in the Central Cooperative Act (1997). They would now continue to remain in office till December 2012. Their term was to end in June 2012.

The government also decided to reduce VAT on mud tiles used for the construction of roofs to 4 per cent on the recommendations of the finance committee constituted by the Central Government.

Dehradun, April 24
The portals of Yamunotri and Gangotri temples were opened around 11.30 in the morning today on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritya.

The deity of Gangotri, Ganga Bhagirath, was shifted from Her winter abode Mukhba Gaon and of Yamunotri from Kharsali were installed in their respective sanctum sanctorum at Gangotri and Yamunotri temples amid rituals and grand prayers for the next six months. The devotees thronged the temples to have a darshan of the deities. The security arrangements were made in full measures. Superintendent of Police, Uttarkashi, Rajiv Swarup said all vehicles coming for Char Dham yatra were checked for security reasons. The vehicles would not be allowed to ply during nights. Sufficient security personnel were deployed around the area. Intelligence had been updated. Metal detectors had been installed at the entrance of the temples. Apart from these precautions, hoteliers and the temple staff had been briefed about not permitting outsiders without proper verification of their documents.

Dehradun, April 24
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna flagged off the groups of tourists for the Char Dham yatra from Rishikesh.

He said the Char Dham yatra was the backbone of tourism in the state and because of the yatra, the state was known worldwide.

He said tourism would be developed as the main source of employment generation in the state and both the state government and the Centre were jointly drafting a master plan for this.

A work plan was also being chalked out to develop other tourist places and activities in the state such as river rafting.

He also took notice of the conditions of the roads along the yatra route. He said the basic facilities such as good roads were also being developed in remote, hilly and border areas of the state.

He said lavatories with modern facilities would also be constructed on the yatra route. Besides completing works on sewerage at Shishamjhari,Mayakund and Chandrabhaga, an additional Rs 3.5 crore would be granted for the sewerage treatment work.

Bahuguna said the water flow of Ganga would be brought

back in the Triveni ghat. He said very soon the construction works of Astha path would be completed.

While referring to Rishikesh, which has witnessed several incidents of elephant menace, he said the state Government was an preparing action plan to provide relief to the local people.

Transport Minister Surendra Rakesh, who was also present on the occasion, said better transportation facilities were being arranged for the pilgrims of the yatra.

Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, Rishikesh Nagar Palika Chairman Deep Sharma and MLAs Subodh Uniyal, Vikram Singh Negi, Dinesh Dhaney and Prem Chand Agarwal were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, April 24
The 20th executive committee meeting of the state Child Welfare Council has decided to make recommendations to the state government about legal aspects of child adoption. The meeting held at Raj Bhavan here today was chaired by Uttarakhand Governor and chairperson of the council Margaret Alva.

The meeting took an important decision regarding recommendations to be made about legalising the process of child adoption, keeping in mind that the process was not yet formalised. B.K. Maheshwari, lifetime member of the council, has been given the task of preparing the recommendations and presenting the draft before the Governor before they were sent to the government for action.

The Governor said: “This council aims at providing health, education and nutrition to poor, helpless children and children who are rag pickers, also giving them emotional support. All activities of the council need to be focused on the welfare of children and thus experienced people and experts from various walks of life should be made lifetime members of the council.”

The meeting set the target of increasing the number of council members from 245 to 300 by the end of this year.

The Governor said that a system should be developed by the council by which paintings, posters and greeting cards made by children could be sold and the money could be used for the welfare of children.

She also directed the general secretary that a list of contact numbers of those members should be prepared who had been included in a committee voluntarily at the last meeting for regular care and treatment of children with serious illnesses.

The Governor also instructed the general secretary that the council should express gratitude towards those individuals or institutions who helped the council, through its journal and annual report.

The action taken since the last meeting and the calendar of events to be held from April 2012 to December 2012 were also discussed at the meeting, which also deliberated upon efforts to provide computer education and training in vocational activities through the council.

Dehradun , April 24
On the first day of Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) inter-section hockey, a total of four matches were played. Hockey is one of the most important games played here today. Hockey forms an essential team game at the defence forces and played with enthusiasm in RIMC.

In the match between Ranjit and Pratap juniors, Pratap won 1-0, with Cadet Aditya scoring the lone goal.

In the second match between Shivaji and Chandragupta, it was a draw 0-0 and led to penalty strokes. Cadet Shantanu and Anuj scored from Chandragupta and Cadet Aryan scored from Shivaji and, hence, Chandragupta won 2-1.

In the match between Chandragupta and Ranjit, it was a draw 0-0. In the penalty strokes, Cadet Shantanu and Sohail scored goals whereas Cadet Dhruv Singh scored from Ranjit section. Eventually, Chandragupta won 2-1.

In the match between Shivaji and Pratap, Shivaji won 1-0, with Cadet Param scoring the goal at the 35th minute.

The refrees for the matches were L/Nk Munda, Hav Jagwinder Singh, Sub Maj BB Thapa and Sub Kundan Singh.

The time-keepers were Cadet Chandrashekhar, Orkhodeep, Gaurav and Siddhant.

Nainital, April 23
The state Forest Department plans to make use of the funds allocated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme to check the man-animal conflicts.

According to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Dr RBS Rawat, “It has come to light that in most of the cases of man-animal conflict, particularly those involving leopard attacks, the victims are women. They are attacked during the early hours of the day and after dark when they go to answer the call of nature. We are working on a strategy to construct toilets, particularly for women, in the villages. These constructions can be linked to the MNREGA and CAMPA schemes.”

Dr Rawat made these observations while attending an interface of the officials of his department and the representatives of Van Panchayats in Nainital couple of days back.

He further listed the achievements of his department in checking and addressing the issues related to the man-animal conflict in the state.

He claimed that the compensation had been paid to the victims of animal attack who had approached Forest Department with medical proof till December 2011.

He further stated that efforts were being made to compensate even those farmers whose agriculture produce is destroyed by animals. However, a mechanism had to be put in place that ensured that only genuine sufferers get paid, he said.

The wild animal menace has emerged as a state-wide problem. Farmers have been pointing at different forums that animals like wild boar, elephants, monkeys and neelgai have been destroying large quantities of their agricultural produce. They have even been saying that they have been compelled to stop growing certain cereals and pulses on account of the devastation unleashed by the animals.

On the issue of checking the monkey menace, Dr Rawat said while taking a cue from the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, Forest Department had decided to go a bit further in its effort. He said the state government had decided to install enclosures for keeping trapped monkeys.

While one of these enclosures will be set up on an area of 50 acres in Tanakpur, the land for the second one is being identified between Nand Prayag and Karan Prayag.

Similarly, enclosures for man-eating leopards are also being set up. While one such enclosure has already been set up near Almora, the second one is to be set up near Haridwar.

Dehradun, April 24
The Forest Research Institute's Molecular Taxonomy Laboratory was inaugurated at the botany division of the institute today.

Inaugurating the laboratory, FRI Director SS Negi highlighted the importance of molecular taxonomy for proper identification of plant species. The newly established laboratory is well-equipped with all latest instrumentations related to molecular taxonomy research work.

Head, botany division, Dr S Nautiyal said the authentic identification of species was pre-requisite for any study. "At present, unknown timber samples are identified through examination of internal structure of wood. However, in many species overlapping anatomical characters pose difficulty in identification. There are many close-related species which cannot distinguished by morphological features and hence require molecular tools for identification", Nautiyal said, referring to the importance of Molecular Taxonomy Laboratory.

Scientist and in charge of the laboratory Dr Anup Chandra disclosed that the botany division of the FRI had the second biggest herbarium in the country and had expertise in plant identification.

However, he said there were many species where morphological characters were not enough to distinguish the species and, therefore, require DNA-based technology for species authentication. All heads of the divisions and the staff of the botany division were present in the function.

Dehradun, April 24
The Uttarakhand Jan Manch has criticised the Ganga Basin Authority for buckling under pressure exerted by GD Agarwal and his supporters and failing to take decision in the interest of Uttarakhand.

At a meeting on "Water Rights and Uttarakhand", S Rajan Todriya of the Jan Manch said people, who had anti-Uttarakhand agenda, were driving the Ganga Basin Authority. "Agarwal does not belong to Uttarakhand and has no right to speak on such issues. There was no demand from the people of Uttarakhand to form a Ganga Basin Authority but it was formed because certain vested interests did not want Uttarakhand to channelize its water resources," said S Todriya.

Todriya said the composition of the Ganga Basin Authority is such that the majority members were from outside while those from Uttarakhand had been reduced to a minority status. "As such, all decisions taken by the Ganga Basin Authority are bound to go against Uttarakhand," he said.

Dehradun, April 24
Dr AS Soin, chief liver transplant surgeon, Medanta-The Medicity Hospitial (News Delhi), said timely transplant could help patients suffering from liver cirrhosis. He said all major hospitals in the country were offering this facility.

Speaking at the one-day conference on ‘The status of liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery in India’, which was organised jointly by the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dehradun, and Medanta-The Medicity Hospitial (News Delhi), Dr Soin said, “About five to seven years ago, the liver transplantation was not well developed in India. However, now we have developed latest technology.

Dr Amit Rastogi, liver transplant and hepatobiliary surgeon at Medanta Hospital, said nearly two lakh people die every year of terminal liver disease and liver cancer of which at least 25,000 could be saved by a transplant.

Dr Rakesh Kalra, senior plastic surgeon and president of the IMA, Dehraduan, said about 10.15 patients from Dehradun and other parts of the state had undergone successful liver transplantation at Medanta.

Dehradun, April 24
The performance by world renowned Hungarian Kodalay String Quartet, comprising Attila Falvay, Erika Toth- on the violin, and Janos Fejervari on viola, left the students of St Josesph’s Academy stunned here today. The programme was organised by SPICMACAY.

They started with composition by Josep Hyaden.

The also played Beethoven and Mozart’s music.—TNS

Dehradun, April 24
The Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala and Welham Girls School (B) teams won their respective matches in the Second Welham Girls School Invitational Hockey Tournament played at Welham Girls School here today.

In the first match, Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala trounced St Agnes School 6-0.

Krishna, Varsha Rawat, Anita, Karishma, Pooja and Meena scored goals for the Mahadevi team.

In the second match, Welham Girls School (B) defeated Scholars Home School 4-0. Aashna (2), Saumya and Vedika scored for the Welham team.