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State to have agri marketing board
MLA opposes removal of 102 shopkeepers
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Two youths from Bijnore nabbed for car theft
Lab technicians’ strike continues
Azadi Bachao Andolan joins stir
835 Haj pilgrims selected via lottery
Hoteliers protest move to limit vehicle inflow
Control room to work round the clock: DM
Workshop of ex-forest officers begins
Relief for Ram Rai institute
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State to have agri marketing board
Dehradun, May 8 He said it would help farmers in marketing their produce and also help them in maintaining better coordination with investors. “We are very soon going to activate this board,” he said. The Chief Minister stated that Uttarakhand had a great potential in food processing and urged the entrepreneurs to set up industries in the hill region. Announcing to establish food parks in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions, he asked the entrepreneurs to set up food processing industries in these parks and assured them all possible assistance. He said Vir Chandra Garhwali Tourism Self-Employment Scheme would also be included in the food processing industry so that more youths get employments. Bahuguna directed the officers concerned to prepare the maximum proposals under the National Mission on Food Processing Scheme which began on April 1 this year. He said the contribution percentage in the scheme between state and the Centre was in the ratio of 25:75. He revealed that 33 per cent grant was provided in these schemes. Bahuguna said the establishment of food processing industries in the hill areas would check migration from the hill areas as the youths would get jobs in their native villages. President of the Kumaon Garhwal Chamber of Commerce and Industries Vikas Jindal presented before the Chief Minister various suggestions useful in the growth of the food processing industry in the state and expected support from the state government. He expected the release of Government Order for uninterrupted power supply, waiver in 2.5 per cent Mandi Tax and increase in the CST rebate to food processing industries as earlier announced by the CM. Also present on the occasion were Secretary, All India Frozen Food and Vegetable Association Ashvini Chhabra, former President of the CII, Uttarakhand Chapter, Rakesh Oberai, Pankaj Gupta of the Uttarakhand Industries Association, Industrialists Anil Goel and Director Industry Sudhir Chandra Nautiyal.
Demands
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MLA opposes removal of 102 shopkeepers
Dehradun, May 8 The delegation also opposed the removal of 102 shopkeepers who were running business from the shops built by the DMC in the city. They also protested against the imposition of composite rent with penalty on them. Rajkumar said the Congress government had always been public friendly and, therefore, they would not tolerate this highhandedness with the shopkeepers. He questioned the logic of delaying this exercise for the past five years until the Congress government came to power in the state. Ashok Verma also cautioned against the levying high house tax on domestic and commercial consumers of 18 Gram Sabha, which were later incorporated in the domain of the DMC. He also demanded items related to electricity fitting, road repair before monsoon, installation of statue of Subhas Chandra Bose on the DMC premises and underground parking. He also stressed on the inclusion of those slum colonies which have been settled down in the DMC area under the provision of house tax. He asked to charge rent from those shopkeepers who had not been paying so since 1998. The delegation included councillors Sanjay Gupta, Navin Bisht, Dr Vijender Pal Singh, Abdul Azis and Jagdish
Dhiman.
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Two youths from Bijnore nabbed for car theft
Dehradun, May 8 The third accused who was successful in absconding from the site is Piyush Verma, also a resident of Bijnor. Safiq is wanted in eight such cases. He had been jailed in 2006 in Uttar Pradesh. The gang had been committing car thefts in Dehradun, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. It was in the morning during vehicle checking on the Shimla bypass road, the police suspected the accused when during checking of vehicle's documents, they started running away. The police could arrest Safiq and Rohit whereas Piyush managed to run away. On further interrogation, Rafiq told the police that he had stolen the vehicle from Gandhi Gram Kalyan Ashram a few days ago. He also admitted to having stolen one Indigo car from Bhandari Bagh and Indica from Meerut. The cars had been hidden in a plot at Banjarawala in the city which the police had recovered. Superintendent of Police Jaswant Singh said the police was expecting more such revelations from the accused in this direction whereby many such vehicles could be recovered from them.
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Lab technicians’ strike continues
Dehradun, May 8 Office bearers of the Medical Laboratory Technicians Association met Director General of Health Dr JP Bhatt but no breakthrough was achieved as the association members were demanding a commitment on the upgradation of grade pay from the existing Rs 5200-20200 grade pay- Rs 2800 to Rs 9300-34800 grade pay - Rs 4200. “During our talks, we were told that the issue could only be taken up at the government level as it is the competent authority to decide on such matters,” said Rakesh Rawat, president of the association. The other demands of the laboratory technicians included creating a structure for them, a provision for risk allowance, promotions and minimum qualification for entry level laboratory technicians should be enhanced to the level of B.Sc in medical laboratory technology.
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Power projects: Protests by supporters, opponents continue
Dehradun, May 8 The protesters asserted that they would not allow people like GD Agarwal to blackmail the Uttarakhand Government. They also demanded immediate completion of the construction of Vishnugad Pipalkoti, Loharnagpala, Pala maneri and Bhaironghati hydro power projects. Addressing the protesters, Janmanch’s general secretary Rajen Todaria said the people would no more allow politics in the name of religion and the Ganga. He even asserted that the Janmanch would even go for a statewide bandh in future if the works on underconstruction hydro projects was not carried out.
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Azadi Bachao Andolan joins stir
Dehradun, May 8 “The muddled thought of our politicians is responsible for a large-scale destruction of our natural habitat. Big dams have uprooted people and have destroyed local ecologies. Soon there would be no water, no farmland and no people,” said Sharma at a meeting of activists. He also lambasted the power project companies for bypassing the issue of displacement. “It is ironical that power project companies are promoting this concept despite fully that the concept can never be successful in the Indian context where the rivers change their course during the monsoon,” he said. Meanwhile Tripen Singh Chauhan of the Jan Chetna Andolan also urged the government to hold dialogue with the people whose lives would be at stake once the dam activity starts in the state. “We want the government to view the issue from a holistic perspective. There is large-scale migration and construction of dams is one of the reasons behind it. None of these dams have been able to make a difference in the lives of the people,” he said. Dr Shamsher Bisht of the Uttarakhand Lok Vahini also said unless the government ensures the participation and give them equal stakes in the development activity, the voices of discontent would continue to be heard. While the activists debated inside, the pro-dam activists gathered outside, demanding that immediate work be started on the stalled projects.
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835 Haj pilgrims selected via lottery
Dehradun, May 8 He also announced that a Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Education Foundation would be established for taking the minority community ahead in the field of education. Bahuguna extended his best wishes to the pilgrims and sympathised with the people who were not selected. He said the state government was persuading the Central government to increase the quota of Haj pilgrims for the state. The Chief Minister said it was the endeavour of the state government to look after the welfare of the minority community. He said Uttarakhand was a unique state that had religious pilgrimages like Char Dham, Piran Kaliyar and Hemkund Sahib. He added the state government was committed towards the welfare of the minority community and a separate Minority Welfare Ministry had been set up in the state. “The state government is trying to pursue the Central government to facilitate direct flights from Uttarakhand to Saudi Arabia for Haj pilgrims,” he said.
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Hoteliers protest move to limit vehicle inflow
Mussoorie, May 8 The Mussoorie administration at a meeting held recently decided to control traffic pouring into the town by limiting the number of vehicles heading towards Mussoorie at Kothal Gate. The Mussoorie Hotel Association spokesperson, Sandeep Sahni, told mediapersons today that the decision was not workable as it would adversely affect their business during the peak tourist season in May and June. Sahni protested the decision of the administration and said as most of the hotels had bookings in advance, the tourists would face unnecessary difficulties if their vehicles were stopped at Kothal Gate while entering Mussoorie. Sahni said such a move would decrease the number of tourists but lead to revenue loss to the already cash-strapped state government. Furthermore, the tourists would be forced to change their destination and they may head towards more tourist-friendly states such as Himachal Pradesh. He requested the administration to rethink on the decision or otherwise the association would raise the issue at various forums. Meanwhile, president of the Mussoorie Traders Association Rajat Aggarwal has also come out in support of the Mussoorie Hotel Association. He said they would join any protest by the hotel owners as the decision of the administration would also affect the business of the shopkeepers.
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Parents of thalassaemic children demand aid
Dehradun, May 8 Speaking on the behalf of parents of the children on the occasion of International Thalassaemia Day observed today at Doon Hospital, Nidish, father of three-and-a-half year old Shaurya, said, “Though we are able to get free blood for our son, the cost of the medicines for the chelation therapy and blood filters is very costly. We have to spend at least Rs 5,500 per month. It will be of immense help if the government offers monetary assistance to the parents.” On the other hand, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr RK Pant, said the Doon Hosptial blood bank was providing free blood to the APL and BPL patients and it was the responsibility of the government to offer more concessions to the patients. “A proposal was sent to the Centre for setting up a Thalassaemia centre but nothing has been done in this regard. There is also a need for deputing a senior medical officer for thalassaemia at the Doon Hospital and generating awareness among parents, who are carriers of thalassaemia to undergo prenatal testing,” he added. Dr Sujata Singh, micro biologist at Doon Hospital, laid stress on containing the disease by making compulsory tests for carrier parents. “In Cyprus, a thalassaemia prevention programme was started in which high-risk families were screened and it proved highly successful in reducing the number of patients. We need to develop awareness about the disease so that it is fully eradicated,” she said. There are a total of 90 registered cases of thalassaemia in the state and 74 are registered with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) blood bank in Dehradun.
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Jasmine house wins French competition
Dehradun, May 8 The competition consisted of a presentation, poem recitation and reading. The competition was concluded with a French song ‘Ma Mère’. The Principal felicitated the girls and the French department for putting up an excellent show. She expressed the need of such competitions to showcase the language skills of the students. The Jasmine house won the competition. The Tulip house bagged the second position. Orchid and Daffodil houses stood third and fourth positions, respectively.
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Odissi dance devoted to Lord Vishnu: Dwibedi
Dehradun, May 8 She had an interactive session with the children in which she answered many queries raised by the students. She explained the difference between various dances like Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Odissi. She said Odissi was a soft and graceful dance form. Apart from being very expressive, it involved a lot of knee-bending and elaborated hand movements, she explained. She said the dance form was devoted to Lord Vishnu. “Though my father is my guru, my source of inspiration is my mother. To attain perfection, one has to be patient and passionate.” She said she started learning dance when she was two and practices everyday for more than two hours. She said through classical dance, we get connected not only with our culture and traditions but also with ourselves.
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Forest Fires
Nainital, May 8 He has also ordered officials of the Forest Department to keep their control room also open 24 hours. These orders have been given to check the instances of forest fires
as and when they are reported. At a meeting held in Almora on Tuesday, Gupta said the information recorded by the Forest Department through its control room be shared with the Disaster Management Department and it would be reviewed every week. He advocated that a communication network be developed across the district in such a manner that the officials came to know of developments simultaneously so that the situations could be brought under control more effectively. He called for the assimilation of the wireless services of the Forest Department and the police in the process. Gupta further stated that apart from making people aware on the ways and means to tackle forest fires, action be taken against those whose carelessness resulted in such incidents. He said very often careless dumping of bidis and cigarettes led to massive forest fires and such practices needed to be checked.
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Workshop of ex-forest officers begins
Dehradun, May 8 Inaugurating the workshop, Ramesh Chandra, a retired IFS officer of the 1947-49 batch, shared his experiences with the gathering. He said the workshop provided a unique opportunity for the Indian Forest Service probationers to interact with such senior retired officials and also imbibe the values about the forest and wildlife management. IGNFA Director AK Wahal in his speech referred to the activities of the academy. RBS Rawat, Principal Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand Forest Department, Dr VK Bahuguna, Director General, ICFRE, and Ashish Rawat, Principal, Central Academy of the State Forest Service Officers College, also interacted with the participating officers. The inauguration ceremony ended with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr Mohit Gera, coordinator of this workshop. Later, these IFS officers also visited the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. They relived their old memories and remembered their old days spent on the beautiful and historical campus. Director General, Indian Council Forestry Research and Education, Dr VK Bahuguna, and Director, Forest Research Institute, Dr PP Bhojvaid welcomed them and briefed about various research activities of the institute. The senior officers also shared their experiences and gave valuable suggestions for taking the forestry research to the field. Around 36 retired IFS officers from 15 states are attending the workshop.
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Relief for Ram Rai institute
Dehradun, May 8 Chander Shekhar Pant, PRO of the institute, said they had submitted the documents to VC Meenakashi Sundaram, who then gave instructions for withdrawing the sealing. “We informed the VC that the permission for building the institute was granted by the Uttar Pradesh government in 1999 and accordingly the construction was undertaken. We also lodged our protest against the arbitrary manner in which the sealing activity was undertaken by the MDDA officials, who did not inform us,” said Pant.
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Guru Nanak Academy beat Unison World School
Dehradun, May 8 The second match was played between Welham Girls' School and Moravian Institute. Shreya scored the goal in the 6th minute, Radhika scored the goal in the 19th minute and Ishrat scored the goal in the 38th minute. Both matches in the DDCSA Inter School Girls Hockey Tournament played at Unison World School were drawn here yesterday. Yesterday, the first match between Unison World School and Moravian Institute was drawn 0-0. Both the teams tried hard to score against each but could not succeed. The second match between Welham Girls and Guru Nanak Academy was also drawn at 1-1. Ishrat of Welham scored a goal in the first minute of the game, while Priya of Guru Nanak Academy scored the equaliser in the 15th minute.
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