Persistent demand for flyovers, subways for Dehradun
Dehradun, August 30
Importance is once again being given to building subways, overbridges and flyovers in the heavy traffic zones of the city during the meetings held at the higher rungs in the state government these days.

Mussoorie, August 30
The team of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV), Polo Ground, Mussoorie, was declared the overall champion in the regional roller skating meet held among participants from various KVs of the region near the Garhwal terrace today. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Moradabad, stood second.

More than 200 students from six Kendriya Vidyalayas of the region participated in the skating meet. The results of various events were as follows.

Under-15 road race (girls section): Ankita from KV, Pithoragarh, and Shalini and Anukrita, both from KV, Moradabad, stood first, second and third, respectively.

Under-15 road race (boys section): Deepak Ranchela, Vikki, Shubham Shah and Ashwin stood first, second, third and fourth, respectively.

Under 17 road race (girls): Sonika Semwal, Sakshi and Aaarti Thapa and Shagn were declared first, second and third, respectively. Shreyanshi from KV, ONGC, Dehradun, won the event in the quads category while Palak from KV, Moradabad, Ashpreet Kaur from KV, Kashipur, Shagn Gaud from KV, Mussoorie, were declared winners in various age groups in the road race.

The principal from the host school gave away citations and awards to the winners. Sports coaches from Mussoorie Shingara Singh and Roop Chand coordinated the events. 

Dehradun, August 30
After the Uttarakhand government hiked the salaries of contractual doctors in the state, the government doctors, too, have been demanding improving working conditions for them and implementation of Direct Assured Career Progression (DACP).

Non-existent promotional avenues and poor salaries are some of the reasons that are discouraging young doctors from rendering services in the state. “The government is not serious about improving the lot of the government doctors, nor does it make the services attractive for young doctors. We have gone hoarse demanding implementation of the DACP but to no avail. After implementing the DACP in 2002, the Centre had asked the state governments to implement the scheme as part of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations for the government doctors,” said BC Ramola, president, Provincial Medical and Health Services (Uttarakhand). —TNS

Dehradun, August 30
Importance is once again being given to building subways, overbridges and flyovers in the heavy traffic zones of the city during the meetings held at the higher rungs in the state government these days.

MLA, Rajpur Road, Raj Kumar, took the lead by proposing subways at three such locations and making the Chief Minister to give his nod to the proposals in public as well. However, it must not be forgetten that even the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), too, placed such proposals in the recent past, got a part of the fund released under some of the schemes as well, but now all those proposals are lying in the cold storage for the sheer lack of initiative on the part of the state government.

Earlier, the MDDA was made the nodal agency for such proposals but now the picture is not clear. MLA Raj Kumar, who proposed subways at Clock Tower, Connaught Place and Estley T-point at the cost of Rs 528 lakh, Rs 240 lakh and Rs 518 lakh, said : “It is yet to be seen which government department will be selected as the nodal working agency for the construction of subways. The city also needs a number of flyovers and overbridges as well to lighten the burden of the burgeoning traffic in the limited and small areas.” He said earlier proposals as placed by the MDDA and the DMC would also be considered.

Vice Chairman, MDDA, RM Sundaram, said earlier they had hired a consultancy as well to take the proposals of flyovers and overbridges ahead but withdrew it after getting not much response from the state government.

The MDDA had proposed a flyover at Balliwala Chowk, ISBT and Saharanpur Chowk a few months ago. A flyover of 600 metres was to be built at the cost of Rs 21 cr at Balliwala Chowk. ISBT, which remains crammed with buses and other vehicles and connects to Delhi, Haridwar and other places, was also to have a flyover of 600 metres at the cost Rs 42 crore. An overbridge of 105 metres was to be constructed from Saharanpur Chowk to Prince Chowk. This stretch, too, has the maximum number of vehicles plying throughout the day.

The DMC had also laid out plans for subways and flyovers. The subways were to be constructed at Clock Tower, Connaught Place and Estley Hall. The flyover was proposed from Bannu School-railway station up to Bhandari Bagh, opposite Matawala Bagh. It would also connect to Saharanpur Chowk. Three overbridges were proposed near railway crossings in the city, which are Dharampur to Mata Mandir Road, Defence Colony and Mohkampur.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli has not lost hope and said the projects would now be proposed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for phase II. He said the JNNURM phase II was to be launched this year, which had not happened. The rest of the projects would be placed under phase II, barring overbridges where half of the funds would be allocated by the Railway Board and remaining half by the Center. He said demands for flyovers, overbridges and subways in the city were consistently being made for many years but they could never see the light of the day. 

Dehradun, August 30
President of the District Football Association (DFA) Upendra Singh Thapli today urged state Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal to put a check on disgruntled forces trying to create a parallel body to democratically elect the DFA office bearers in Dehradun.

Addressing a press conference here today, Thapli said those defeated in the DFA elections a few months back were now trying to set up a parallel body and trying to belittle DFA’s efforts to promote football in the region.

He said the DFA under his leadership was committed to the betterment of football in Dehradun. “We have democratically won the elections and those who have been defeated are now trying to disrupt football in Dehradun by trying to create a parallel body and hold another league,” Thapli pointed out.

He also held that 24 out of 36 football clubs were participating in the Lala Nemidas Memorial Football League, which evidently proves the wider acceptability of the DFA.

Thapli said since his election in the DFA, he had been making efforts to promote football activities in the district. “It is my mission to regain the lost glory of football in Dehradun,” he pointed out.

Mussoorie, August 30
Around 28 track suits along with sports kit, including a cricket mat, bats, volleyballs and basketballs were distributed among the poor students of Sanatan Dharm Sankrit Vidyalaya under the aegis of a social organisation, Sarva Bahvantu Sukhina, in a simple ceremony today.

The chief guest on the occasion, MLA, Mussoorie, Ganesh Joshi, distributed sports-related items among the students here.

Ganesh Joshi, speaking on the occasion, said that sports was important for the holistic growth of the children as it inculcated a sense of camaraderie and competition among them, which was very important for a successful career.

He further said that the children should be motivated towards sports at an early age so that they are able to develop skills and bring laurels to their institution and the state. The other invited guest, Municipal Council president OP Uniyal, assured the school of continuous support as it was the only school that was imparting education in Sanskrit, the most revered language in the country. The Sarva Bahvantu Sukhina secretary, Amit Bhatt, Vijay Singh, Ajay Singh, Mukesh,Suraj, Chetan, Ravinder and others were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, August 30
Councillor from Reetha Mandi Abdul Aziz has urged Governor Aziz Qureshi to ensure the availability of land for a graveyard in the region.

The councillor said, “The Dehradun Municipal Corporation had sometime ago provided 15 bighas for a graveyard in the Lohiyanagar region of Dehradun and a foundation stone was also laid. However, the land has been encroached upon and is yet to be handed over to the community," said councillor Aziz.

He said members of the Muslim community were facing a lot of problems in carrying out the last rites in the absence of a graveyard.

The councillor has sought the intervention of Governor Aziz Qureshi towards removing encroachment from the Lohiyanagar land and handing over this allotted land for the graveyard to the Muslim community.