Wheat procurement slow despite govt order
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 25
The procurement of wheat continues to be slow despite instructions from the government and the local administration to speed up the process.

Reports of poor quality of bags being used for storage of foodgrains have come to light. District Magistrate, Udham Singh Nagar, Brijesh Sant and some other senior officers reportedly carried out surprise checks at the procurement centres in the district and found a large number of substandard and torn bags being used for storing foodgrains there.

An inquiry was reportedly being conducted in an alleged scam in the purchase of bags. Even issues of farmers had not been addressed despite promise to do so. Farmers held a demonstration at Sitarganj a few days ago alleging that officials at the procurement centres were harassing them.

The District Magistrate had said at a review meeting last week that there were complaints against officials involved in the procurement process that they were negligent in duty and not carrying out routine inspections.

He had also stated that the farmers were being harassed at the procurement centres and the practice of touts was being promoted.

Brijesh said no laxity would be tolerated in procuring foodgrains and directed the officials to perform their duties sincerely and honestly.

The farmers had been demanding that the procurement of wheat be done on the pattern being followed in Punjab and Haryana. They had also demanded that the number of procurement centres be increased.

The farmers had raised the issue at the last meeting of the Kisan Bandhu held at Rudrapur earlier this month. They had underlined that the 122 centres of the Cooperatives Department in the district lacked proper staff. They demanded that foodgrain procurement be done through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the number of procurement centres be increased.

The then District Magistrate, PS Jangpangi, had told the farmers that their problems would be solved on priority.

It is learnt that 165 procurement centres have been set up across the region for the procurement of foodgrains. As many as 143 centres are located in Udham Singh Nagar, which is the biggest wheat producing district in the region.

Even Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, during a visit to the region last week, had ordered proper supervision of the functioning of the procurement centres. He had said harassment of farmers would not be tolerated. 

UJVNL MD unaware of panel set up to look into staff demands
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
Though Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) had set up a committee to look into the demands of employees regarding various allowances three months ago, neither its Managing Director nor the Executive Director, who was appointed as its chairman, was aware about it.

When the Tribune asked Managing Director GP Patel and Executive Director, Civil, Sandeep Singhal about the progress of the committee, they expressed ignorance about it and asked the reporter to ask the human resource (HR) wing of the UJVNL about it.

However, Patel took Singhal to task and directed him to keep himself updated about his affairs. He then called up the HR wing and asked it to fix a meeting with the leaders of the employees’ union.

Jagdish Chand, general secretary of the UJVNL Employees’ Union, said, “The maximum limit of Site Allowance, which is given to those who are deputed in difficult areas, have been fixed at Rs 600. No employees will prefer to stay and work at dams and barrages far from the city in desolate areas for Rs 600 a month. Maintenance Allowance, which is nominal Rs 100 a month, has not been increased since 1988. There are many other allowances that have not been increased for years together.”

He said the employees’ union had been raising the demand of allowances for a long time but the management had shown no interest towards their issues.

“We do not want to go on strike and destabilise the power generation system on such issues, but the management has been ignoring us altogether,” he said.

He rued that no meeting of the committee had been held so far. 

Rehab centres to check malnutrition among kids
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
To check malnutrition among children in the age group of 0-6 years, the Health Department will set up nutritional rehabilitation centres (NRCs) in three plain districts of the state under the National Rural Health Mission.

The programme is expected to be launched in May. The centres will be opened at District Female Hospital, Haridwar, District Female Hospital, Dehradun, and District Hospital, Udham Singh Nagar.

Piyush Singh, Additional Secretary (Health), said: “Malnourished children will be treated at the NRCs served by a paediatrician, nutritionist and a counsellor. They will be prescribed a high-calorie diet and depending upon their condition, their period of stay could be between 15 and 21 days. As the mother will also stay with the child, she will be compensated for the loss of wages for that period.”

On the basis of MMR reports tabulated by the ICDS Department from anganwari centres running in different parts of the state, it has come to the fore that varying degree of malnutrition was prevalent among children in the age group of 0-6 years in the districts of Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar.

The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-3) had bracketed Uttarakhand with states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana, where the mortality rate of children below five years due to severe malnutrition was critical.

“The cases of malnutrition and iron deficiency among children as well as woman are equally prevalent in Uttarakhand.

But no serious case of malnutrition such as stunted growth has been reported by the ICDS Department,” said Sushma Dutta, Additional Director Reproductive and Child, Health.

The midday meal programme by the Education Department for primary students in government and semi-government schools is also aimed at perking up nutritional content of primary schoolchildren. Besides this, the Central Government’s SABLA scheme of tackling iron deficiency among teenage girls is also being run by the state ICDS Department.

“An integrated approach by involving different departments to work in tandem such as Women and Child Development, Education, Food and Civil Supplies and Health will help us solve the problem better,” said Piyush Singh. 

Delay in restoration of Collectorate's building
XEN told to clarify within three days
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
District Magistrate Nidhi Mani Tripathi has pulled up officials of the Public Works Department for the inordinate delay in the reconstruction and restoration of the burnt Collectorate building in Nainital. The DM has written to the Executive Engineer of the department asking him to submit a clarification.

She also expressed annoyance on the quality of material being used in the reconstruction. The DM said the administration had provided funds for the job well in time and ordered that one engineer be deputed for the job on a regular basis. Despite this, work had been progressing at a snail's pace and several reminders had been given on this count.

The DM said it was surprising that neither an engineer has been deputed for the job on a regular basis and nor have the recommendations given by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, been made available to her office.

The Executive Engineer of the PWD has been asked to submit his clarifications within the next three days and has been conveyed that the delay would be taken up seriously while fixing responsibilities for the same.

On October 14, 2010, a CBRI team had taken stock of the damage done to the Collectorate building by a devastating fire that had broken out on May 5, 2010. The three-member team had took the samples from the burnt area. The CBRI had been asked to restore the building to its original glory. The team had come to Nainital on a request from the then District Magistrate, Shailsh Bagauli, who had been taking a proactive stance to get the building restored at the earliest. The team had surveyed the building and carried out a detailed post-fire investigation.

The building was constructed in 1898 after Nainital was made a new district that was carved out of Almora. It was granted a heritage status in 2005 by the ND Tiwari-led government, although the Archeological Survey of India is yet to put its stamp of approval on it. This building had been a witness to several historic occasions both during British Raj as well as post-Independence period. The administration had claimed that papers pertaining to land, land records and important papers of the British period were saved while several other documents were burnt in the incident.

Tibetans hold candlelight march
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
Members belonging to Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Women's Association and National Democratic Party of Tibet held a candlelight march in support of Panchen Lama, who mysteriously disappeared from Tibet.

On his birthday today the Tibetans demanded his release as the Tibetans living in exile in India allege China's role in the sudden disappearance of the Lama who, in 1995 at the age of six, was recognised by the Dalali Lama as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Lama.

"We demand his release and would continue to work towards achieving our goal for his safe return to the Tashi Lhumpo monastery," said Tenzing, member of of Tibetan Women's Association.

The silent candlelight march traversed through main parts of the city with the Tibetans praying for the release of the Panchen Lama.

"It is his 23rd birth anniversary today and several years have passed since the Panchen Lama and his family were whisked away by the Chinese authorities, who have targeted our religious heads to break us, but we continue to demand his release," added Tsering Lamo of Tibetan Women's Association. 

Nod to two ayurvedic, three nursing colleges
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
The Uttarakhand Government today approved the setting up of two private ayurvedic medical colleges and three private nursing colleges in the state.

At a meeting of the Empowered Committee on Ayurveda and Medical Education, a no-objection certificate was given to the Choudhury Harchander Singh Atma Ram Education Trust in Baleda (Roorkee) and Badri Datt Sharma Education Society, Rudrapur, (Udham Singh Nagar) for the setting up of the ayurvedic colleges.

Earlier, the trust and the society had submitted proposals in this regard to the committee, which found them fulfilling all government norms. They have also deposited a payment of Rs 120 lakh each as guarantee money.

During the meeting, eight proposals regarding the setting up of nursing colleges also came up. The committee found three proposals fulfilling the norms and the Chief Secretary recommended no-objection certificates to be issued to them.

In the wake of a High Court order terminating the appointments of 229 ayurvedic doctors who had been appointed on ad hoc basis, the committee asked the Law Department to examine the case.

These ayurvedic doctors were given appointments on ad hoc basis through a Cabinet decision.

Recently, the High Court had quashed the appointments of these doctors and had in its judgment asked them to reappear for interview to be conducted by the State Public Service Commission. They were also given 10 years relaxation in age. The government had first advertised for these posts, carried interviews and then given appointments. 

Victims of natural disasters to get more compensation
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, April 25
The Union Home Ministry has released a set of new compensation package to be given to those who are affected by natural disasters in any part of the country.

According to the new set of package which came into effects from January 16 this year in the country, if a person dies in a natural calamity, he will be entitled to get Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation instead of Rs 1 lakh being given earlier, according to disaster mitigation officials.

“According to the new orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, if a person gets seriously injured in a natural disaster, he will now get Rs 9,300 for treatment instead of Rs 7,500 being given so far, and if one becomes disable, more than 80 per cent in a natural disaster, he will now get Rs 62,000, instead of Rs 50,000 being given under old provisions,” said RS Rana, district disaster management officer.

According to Rana, the district is the most disaster-hit in the state and these provisions will benefit the people of the district who loss their family members or property in any disaster like Landslides, cloudbursts, earthquakes and storms which are frequent in the district.

“The provisions will not cover in case of deaths in road accidents, air crash, mine collapse and forest fires as these are termed as man-made accidents,” said the officer.

According to the officer, the compensation rates of the cattle herds perished during disaster have also been increased. According to new provisions, if a milk-giving animal dies in a disaster the owner will now get Rs 16,400 instead of Rs 10,000 being given so far. “The death of horse in natural disaster will bring commensuration of Rs 15,000 to owner instead of Rs 10,000 being given so far, according to new parameters.

“In case a goat or sheep perishes, a compensation of Rs 1,650 will be given to the owners. This amount will be limited up to 4 cattle only,” said Rana.

According to new parameters, the compensation for the fully damaged pucca house has not been increased and kept at Rs 35,000 per house. But the compensation for damaged kucha house has been raised from 10,000 to 15,000 this time.

“The critically damaged pucca house will get a compensation of Rs 6,300 instead of Rs 5,000 while a kucha house, damaged in a natural disaster, owner will be given Rs 3,200 instead of Rs 5,200,” said Rana.

The new compensation package also covers compensation package being given to marginal and small farmers of calamity-hit areas, according to new orders by the ministry. For a crop damaged beyond 50 per cent, a compensation of Rs 3,000 per hectare in non-irrigated areas will be given, while Rs 6000 per hectare be given for crop loss in the irrigated land.

“The perennial crops will have a compensation package of Rs 8000 per hectare maximum, whereas the minimum package in this category will not be less than Rs 250 for annual crops and Rs 1000 for perennial crops,” said the officer.

The new compensation order by the Home Ministry has also covered the damaged caused by avalanches or due to changing of way by a river. In these cases, the compensation will be awarded at the rate of Rs 25,000 per hectare and if the fertile land has been covered by mud beyond 3 inches, a compensation of Rs 8,100 per hectare will be given to the farmers. This amount was Rs 15,000 and 6,000, respectively, in old provisions, said the officer. 

Hotel owners hail excise policy
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, April 25
Spokesman for the Uttarakhand Hotel Association Sandeep Sahni expressed gratitude towards Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for providing much-needed relief by introducing new excise policy in the state.

Sahni, speaking to mediapersons here today, said the government had reduced the bar licence fee from Rs 4 lakh to 2 lakh under the new excise policy. They were grateful to the government. He further said the relaxation in the licence fee by the Cabinet under the leadership of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna would go a long way in promoting tourism in the state.

Sandeep Sahni on behalf of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister and the Cabinet for approving the new excise policy.

He said earlier due to the exorbitant bar licence fee, the hoteliers had stopped seeking the licence but with the approval of the new policy, they were contemplating to seek licence afresh which would lead to additional revenue for the state government.

President of the Mussoorie Hotel Association RN Mathur and secretary Ajay Bhargav also thanked the government for the new excise policy. They said this would help in reducing smuggling of liquor from Chandigarh. They added with more bars in the town, the youth would not indulge in liquor consumption on the roadsside which often led to violence and chaos.

The Uttarakhand Hotel Association along with the Mussoorie Hotel Association would also assist the government in providing useful inputs in promoting tourism through developing new circuits around Mussoorie so that the tourists could stay for longer period in the state. They also thanked the Tourism Secretary SS Sandhu for initiating several tourism projects for the town.

Members of Landour Cantt Board walk out of meeting
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, April 25
The elected members of the Landour Cantt Board along with its vice-president CP Baloni walked out of the board meeting here today. This is the first instance in the past four years that the elected members have boycotted the meeting.

The members alleged that they were forced to take the step after Army officers present at the meeting behaved unruly with them and local MLA’s representative Kushal Singh Rana, who was attending the meeting for the first time.

Baloni said the situation turned ugly when the agenda item No. 4 was being discussed and the members in unison expressed disagreement on the issue. Kushal Singh Rana also supported the elected members. This angred the Army officers and they started questioning Rana’s right to ask questions. The agitated members walked out of the meeting and left the board room.

Baloni said the Army officers behaved in a dictorial manner that was never seen before. He alleged that the Landour Cantt Board officials also acted in a partisan way with regard to public issues.

He lamented that on the one hand the Army officers instead of addressing the grievances of the civilians residing in the Landour Cantt Board area were penalising them in an arbitrary fashion, on the other they sided with influential people.

Baloni said the board was serving notices on ordinary civilians regularly on the issue of encroachment, but remained silent when it came to acting against influential people. He added he would write to the Union Defence Minister about the issue and demand an inquiry against the cantt board officials.

Meanwhile, Rana apprised local MLA Ganesh Joshi about the whole incident. He requested Joshi to raise the issue in the Legislative Assembly as it was a breach of privilege of an elected representative.

Facilities for challenged children in US Nagar
Tribune News Service

Nainital, April 25
District Magistrate in Udham Singh Nagar Brijesh Kumar Sant has called for identifying and listing of disabled children studying in various schools so that they can be provided free equipment to deal with disability. He has also ordered that regular health checkups be carried out in various schools in the district.

The orders were given at a meeting held in Rudrapur on Tuesday afternoon to review the implementation of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in the district. Sant called for providing an environment to the children that is conducive for their growth and generates interest in studies. He disclosed that a sum of Rs 8.68 crore has been allocated for the implementation of the scheme in the district during the current financial year and further added that the district administration has asked the state administration for a grant of Rs 15 crore for construction of school buildings.

Pointing that RMSA is an important programme introduced by the Centre, Sant said 75 per cent of the funds for implementation of the scheme are being provided by the Centre while the remaining are to be given by the state government. He ordered that the scheme be implemented properly at the grassroots level so that the children are able to avail quality education.

Welham boys win b’ball title

Dehradun, April 25
In an evenly poised final match, Welham Boys' School ( Blue) beat The Doon School by a solitary point to lift the 26th All-India Golden Jubilee Basketball Tournament played at Welham Boys' School here today.

The Welham team scored 55 points while rivals The Doon school scored 54 points. For Welham Boys, Zoravar scored 24 poinats while Arjun from Doon School scored 21 points.

In the semi-finals, The Doon School beat Lawrence School, Sanawar, 58-37 while Welham Boys ( Blue) defeated Motilal Nehru Sports School, Rai, Haryana 58-18.

The best defender of the tournament was awarded to Shubham of Scindia School, best rebounder to Khalid of The Doon School and the most valuable player was awarded to Zoravar of Welham Boys School. — TNS

Mandakini House lift cricket trophy
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
Mandakini House won the final today in the 4th Shri Rohitash Memorial Boys' Super 8 Inter House Cricket Tournament 2012 played at The Heritage School. Tathagat Chaudhary was adjudged as the Man of the Match.

In the final match today, the tournament was played between Mandakini and Sagwaan House. Mandakini House won the toss and chose to bat. In the first inning, Mandakini House scored 32 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Sagwaan House scored 45 runs without any loss of wicket.

In the second innings, Mandakini Houe scored 47 runs at the loss of 2 wickets. Mandakini House won the match by 15 runs. The match was umpired by Vinay Rawat and Prabhu Lenka.

Man held for bid to rape minor 
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, April 25
The Mussoorie police last night arrested a man for allegedly attempt to rape of 10-year girl.

The police has registered a case and presented him in a court from where he was sent to prison.

The police has identified the accused as Om Prakash (55), resident of Barlowganj, originally a resident of Aligarh.

According to the police, the mother of the girl Sunita alleged that when she and her husband was out of the house on job, Om Prakash, who resides in the neighborhood, came to her house under the pretext of seeking a grinder and finding the minor girl alone in the house attempted to outrage her modesty but she was saved as the mother returned forcing the accused to flee from the site.

The mother informed the police who apprehended the accused.

Station House Officer Parshikshit Kumar, later speaking to mediapersons, said a first information report had been registered against Om Prakash and he had been booked and presented in the court. 

After ‘tiff’ with girlfriend, youth jumps into gorge
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 25
Amit Dahiya, a student of IMS College on the Mussoorie highway, jumped into a gorge near Malsi Deer Park after a “tiff” with his girlfriend late last evening.

He sustained serious injuries and has been taken to Fortis Hospital, New Delhi today.

Amit took the drastic step after a “tiff” with his girlfriend, who studies in the same college. He is pursuing a diploma in management. The girl left the college after the incident.

His father Sri Krishan Dahiya, a circle officer in the Delhi Police, reached the city late last night.

Before taking this step, Amit had called up his girlfriend and some other friends and told them about this. His friends immediately reached the site, where they saw his car parked and Amit lying in a pool of blood.

They reported the matter to the Rajpur police, which took him to the local CMI Hospital. 

Start radio services: MP

Dehradun, April 25
Pauri Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has sought starting of broadcast services from the Gopeshwar Akashwani Kendra in Chamoli district of the state.

He raised the issue in the Lok Sabha today and said the foundation stone for the akashwani kendra at Gopeshwar in Chamoli district was laid in 1992 and it was to go on air in 1996. — TNS

3 houses razed

Dehradun, April 25
A team led by Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harak Singh Rawat of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation demolished three illegal constructions from Defence Colony and one from Old Nehru Colony here today. 

He was assisted by Tax Superintendent Rajesh Naithani and a police team headed by SHO Nehru Colony Anand Singh Kathait.Two houses and one room were razed to ground in the Chakshah area of Defence Colony and a small shop built by a cobbler in old Nehru Colony. — TNS

Kanya Pathshala and Welham win

Dehradun, April 26
Mahadevi Kanya Pathshala and Welham Girls’ School (A) 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 defeated Scholars’ Home School 7-0. Pooja Bhatt scored five goals for the Mahadevi team. — TNS