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DMC fails again on sanitation front
Toilets being used for storing corn bags
Start process to set up Sainik School at
Jakholi: Minister
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Congress may sue BJP for defamation
All must take part in development process: Qureshi
Animal sacrifices fall drastically in state
Landslide near Company Garden
leaves area residents worried
DIG’s team completes trek to Kalindi Base
Newly elected councillors
sworn in
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DMC fails again on sanitation front
Dehradun, July 3 There is no one to lead the sanitation drive, which includes clearing and cleaning of all the big drains in the city, which remain clogged with garbage and give rise to water-logging on a large scale during rains. A few supervisors are running the whole show. Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Ashok Kumar has given vent to his grievances regarding acute shortage of staff in DMC several times, which is proving to be a major stumbling block in executing work efficiently in various fields. The vacancy at the CHO level is another big shock. Mayor Vinod Chamoli is quite unhappy with the decision of the state government to transfer Joshi at a critical juncture. He said:" The crucial rainy season is looming over the head. The state government should not have transferred Joshi at this juncture, as he was to handle all the sanitation and drainage-related issues. In his absence, no one is there to lead the drive." He said even a new officer, whenever he came, would take time to understand the functioning of the DMC. He also pointed out that both the MNA and Deputy MNA were relatively new and were still learning about various facets of the DMC. In such a situation, change of guard at the sanitation front was a suicidal step. It must be remembered that Chamoli tried to stall the transfer order of Joshi during the last one month but could not be successful. Regular complaints made by sanitation workers and supervisors against alleged rude behavior of Joshi to officials at DMC and at secretariat level is understood to be the reason behind Joshi's exit from the corporation. He served for more than two years in the DMC and was considered to be tough when it came to extracting work from sanitation workers. Joshi said, “I was instrumental in enforcing door-to-door garbage collection. I was on foot all the time in checking sanitation work in various wards of the city every day. At times, I had to be harsh with sanitation workers, many of whom had become negligent and lethargic. This probably made them to complaint against me.” Joshi has been attached with the office of Director General of Health at present. He was in stark contrast to his predecessor, who was condemned for being pathetically sluggish in taking decisions and enforcing them, but, ironically, he had a good time in the
DMC. |
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Toilets being used for storing corn bags
Mussoorie, July 3 According to the local residents, the corn bags are being kept overnight in the public toilets, and in the morning the same corn packets are sold to the tourists, damaging their health in the process. The residents also said the corn vendors who were already encroaching on Mall Road are now eyeing the public toilets, which is unfortunate. The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) that used to maintain public toilets at Jawahar aquarium had further given these to a private agency for management, but later took these back. They were later converted into godowns to store goods of encroachers. Municipal Council Health Officer Vinod Kumar Nautiyal said that keeping food items in public toilets and then selling these to tourists was really unfortunate, and he had directed punitive action against the people indulging in such an act.
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Start process to set up Sainik School at
Jakholi: Minister
Dehradun, July 3 Rawat, while chairing a meeting of the Directorate, Soldiers’ Welfare and Rehabilitation today, directed the officials to initiate the process of establishing Sainik School at the earliest and prepare a concrete action plan for the formation of eco-task force companies for the conservation of forest and environment. He instructed the Secretary and the Director, Soldiers' Welfare, to hold a meeting with the Forest Department officials in this regard. The officials of the Directorate, Soldiers’ Welfare, apprised the minister of the activities and achievements of the Soldiers’ Welfare Department and various problems pertaining to the ex-servicemen were discussed. He also enquired about the progress of the Uttarakhand Sainik Punarvas Sansthan and the UPNL and assured of all possible steps to redress the problems of soldiers in the state. Rawat expressed satisfaction over various welfare schemes being run for ex-servicemen and their dependents. He said he, too, belonged to the family of a soldier, hence he was much aware of their problems. He said their welfare would always remain on his priority list. Rawat asked Soldier Welfare officials to have more sensitive approach towards ex-servicemen and serve them not as an officer but as social workers. He directed to immediately start recruitment through the UPNL, a corporation working for ex-servicemen in the state, and speed up the process of land allocation for the construction of the UPNL headquarters. Secretary, Soldiers’ Welfare and Rehabilitation, Bhaskaranand Joshi and Brig AN Bahuguna (retd) were also present at the meeting. |
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Congress may sue BJP for defamation
Dehradun, July 3 Addressing mediapersons here today, Surya Kant Dhasmana, vice-president of the committee, said the Nainital High Court had also rejected a petition filed by a BJP leader regarding the quitting of Kiran Mandal and the unfounded allegations levelled by the opposition party. Dhasmana said with the ruling from the high court, it was clear that the allegations by the BJP were baseless and unfounded. He said Kiran Mandal and even the Congress were planning to file defamation cases against the BJP leaders. He further charged that the BJP had lost confidence in the people otherwise they would have waited for the peoples' verdict in the Sitarganj assembly bye-lection instead of approaching the court. "Still they have no faith in the democratic process and are claiming that they will go to the Supreme Court on the issue," he said. Regarding the Sitarganj assembly byelection from where Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna is contesting to enter the state assembly, he said it was sure that the CM would win. Commenting on the charges of dissidence in Congress ranks, he said all senior ministers and party leaders were campaigning at
Sitarganj.
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All must take part in development process: Qureshi
Dehradun, July 3 He said officials who worked responsibly should be encouraged and those who did not should be punished. The Governor said that there was immense potential in the state for developing tourism and hydroelectricity. He said doctors and teachers must serve at least one posting in the hill areas. For this, a rotation system must be implemented. No official of the Education Department was present at the meeting though it had been fixed earlier. The Governor expressed displeasure at this. He said commercialisation of education should not be allowed. Any person could bring his problems to him at Raj Bhavan in Dehradun or Nainital, he added. At Ramnagar, people came to him with problems related to health facilities, request for landscaping in and around Corbett National Park, increasing the quota of Haj yatris from Uttarakhand, opening of a Unani college, hospitals and a Unani directorate. He assured the people that action would be taken on all issues.
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Animal sacrifices fall drastically in state
Pithoragarh, July 3 While the Mahakali temple at Gangolihat, which is known for sacrifice of male buffaloes, has stopped the practice following the court order, the sacrifice of goats has also reduced there since September last year. “The local people and the traditional priest community in the Gangolihat area have decided to respect the court orders and stop the sacrifice of male buffaloes at the temple, which has been centuries-old tradition,” said Kalika Rawal, a priest at the temple. The court judgment has also affected the practice of animal sacrifice at the Barahi Devi temple at Devidhura in Champawat temple where a large number of male buffaloes and goats are sacrificed during the annual mela in August every year. “Till three years ago, more than 300 goats and 50 buffaloes used to be sacrificed at the temple. However, this number came down to 80 goats and 10 buffaloes this year,” said Acharya Madhawanand Shastri, a priest of the temple. “As the mandir committee and the priests did not support animal sacrifices, the practice was stopped at the temple,” said the Devidhura temple priest. “But we do not consider it a success as from our point of view animal sacrifices should stop completely,” said Gauri Maulekhi, state secretary of the NGO. Maulekhi said the biggest success of the movement of the NGO was seen at the Bunkhal mela at Thalisain in Pauri Garhwal district where no animal was sacrificed this year. “By stopping this practice we can save more than 15,000 animals per year from being cruelly sacrificed at this temple,” said Maulekhi. “Nearly 70,000 animals are sacrificed at 19 temples in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions every year. This act of devotees not only violates the IPC rules but also the court orders and provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animal Act,” he said. Though the temple committee is preparing for the annual mela held at the Devidhura temple on Sawan Purnima in August, it has again pledged to prevent animal sacrifices on the temple campus. “The local administration is going to hold a meeting with the temple committee in this connection tomorrow. It has said that the court orders will be obeyed fully and animal sacrifices will be prevented during the annual mela next month,” said Dr Abhishek Tripathi, SDM of Pati subdivision of Champawat district. |
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Landslide near Company Garden
leaves area residents worried
Mussoorie, July 3 According to the residents, landslides that began four years ago had now spread to the periphery of the garden. A landslide occurred barely 10 metres from Company Garden last year, but today it had happened in the area only three metres away, instilling fear among 500-odd families residing there. This had also posed a threat to the lives of tourists who visited the garden daily. The landslide issue was reported extensively by The Tribune last year following which many dignitaries, including former Disaster Management Minister Khajan Das, visited the area. Khajan had assured the people of addressing the problem on priority but no action had been initiated so far. Due to incessant rain last year, the main pipeline that supplies drinking water to various institutions of prominence like the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration had remained closed for several days. It was repaired by the Jal Sansthan at the cost of several lakhs of rupees. Secretary of the garden welfare association said the pipeline was once again in danger due to continuous landslides. Secretary of the Company Garden Resident Welfare Association CP Saklani said there was a serious threat to the lives of the residents and the tourists. He added the water flowing there was loosening soil and increasing the pace of landslides. Association president Surendar Rana said they had written to the department concerned about continuous land erosion but nothing had been done so far. He added they had been fortunate this year due to the delayed monsoon but the whole garden area could cave in anytime when the rains arrive. Municipal Council president OP Uniyal said he had directed council engineers to inspect the area and send an estimate to the Disaster Management Department for remedial measures. The DFO, Mussoorie, said a team of the Soil Conservation Department had completed a survey and suggested several remedial measures for the treatment of the area. The Forest Department prepared an estimate last year and sent it to the higher authorities. But the work would begin after the funds were sanctioned for it. |
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DIG’s team completes trek to Kalindi Base
Dehradun, July 3 Gunjiyal, who led the 10-member expedition to high-altitude areas, collected 20 kg waste throughout the entire stretch of trekking. The areas covered by the team included Gangotri, Bhowasa, Nandanvan, Vasukitaal, Khadapathar, Sita glacier to Kalindi Base. DGP Vijay Raghav Pant had flagged off the expedition on June 24 from the police headquarters. |
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Newly elected councillors
sworn in
Dehradun, July 3 Both councillors were felicitated by the rest of the councillors of both BJP and Congress. Mayor Vinod Chamoli said the developmental issues of the wards, which the councillors represented,would now be better handled by them.
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The management of Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), which recently got a drubbing from the district administration for failing to act appropriately in handling the disaster triggered by massive rain a few days ago, is again staggering.
With the monsoon round the corner, residents of famous tourist destination Company Garden, situated near the Happy valley, are living in fear due to a landslide barely three metres from here.
The members of the garden welfare association rued the fact that due to the apathy of the Forest and Disaster Management departments and the Municipal Council the situation in the Company Garden area had become serious due to frequent landslides.
