Dehradun, January 8
For ushering in greater transparency and accountability, the Department of Good Governance and Corruption Eradication is having to battle with old mindsets that continue to remain unenthusiastic to e-governance measures.

So much so, more than 55 departments have ignored the directives issued by the Department of Good Governance and Corruption Eradication and are yet to upload information on the activities of their departments or the property details of the heads of the departments.

As soon as the Department of Good Governance and Corruption Eradication was set up in 2011 at the height of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption agitation, the Uttarakhand government had issued guidelines to all the heads of departments to make information available about the programmes/ schemes, announcements (vacant posts, transfers and promotions) and property details of their officials on the website created by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Almost a year has passed since the directives were issued and only two departments comprising the Department of Personnel and the Department of Estate have deemed fit to upload the information. Along with providing information about the functioning of the departments, most of the senior officials have also given details about their properties. The Departments of Education and Transport have adopted the measures in bits and pieces.

"It costs much less to initiate e-governance measures, but the departments have to be brought in line. There is a general resistance to adoption of good practises. For this purpose we are carrying out regular monitoring of all the departments and soon we will be organising a meeting," said SS Rawat, secretary to the Chief Minister.

Other measures for initiating good governance were adoption of e-tendering for procurement, including making land purchase orders and details of mining orders public. These, too, have not been fully implemented by the departments.

Even the e-tendering procedures have been adopted by very few departments. "The e-tendering process has considerably cut the role of middle men but it has not found favour with the politicians who have find themselves playing a limited role in the whole process," said a senior official.

Just as the department heads continue to resist change, the government is going ahead full steam to launch the statewide grievance redressal portal on January 26, that would allow auto flow of information and one stop solution to the grievances of the general public. 

Haridwar, January 8
A new quarrying policy is on the anvil, the details of which are being finalised by a high-level committee.

This was stated by Finance Minister Indira Hridayesh here today while talking to The Tribune at a brief stoppage at Damkoti state guest bungalow while on the way to Haldwani.

The Cabinet Minister assured taking cognisance of allowing quarrying on two Ganga beds, Bhogpur and Bishanpur, despite the court's prohibitive order.

She made it clear that Uttarakhand government was serious over illegal quarrying being done in the state, particularly at Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun.

"We are looking into the matter of allowing quarrying at these prohibited lots released by Chief Secretary Rakesh Kumar on December 1. At no cost will quarrying policy be allowed to benefit the mafia. Soon a meeting with the CM is scheduled in the coming days and in a fortnight's time, a new quarrying policy will be in place," said Hridayesh.

On the issue of women's safety in the state, Hridayesh said that there is no need to have specific fast track courts for women-related crimes as there is not much crime against women in the state as was stated by Nainital High Court Chief Justice Barin Ghosh.

Regarding comments by spiritual guru Asa Ram Bapu on the Delhi rape case, Hridayesh pointed that such remarks did not augur well, considering his stature and mass following with lakhs of people being his devotees.

Refuting any lobbying going on for the post of Congress Uttarakhand state chief, Hridayesh said that as per common consensus, directives of Congress national party chief Sonia Gandhi were being strictly followed.

"We are focusing on strengthening the party base in view of the upcoming 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress is providing a stable government since it came into power in Uttarakhand seven months back and now we want to regain all the five parliamentary seats of Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Nainital, Almora and Haridwar once again,"said Hridayesh.

Mussoorie, January 8
Urban Development Minister Preetam Panwar has directed officials to remove encroachments from Mall Road and other areas of the town within a stipulated period of one month in a meeting at Mussoorie today.

Unhappy with the encroachments on the roads widened recently in the town, the minister, taking a strong view, directed the PWD officials to identify the encroachers and deal with them strictly in accordance with the law.

The minister, along with the Secretary, Urban Development, MH Khan, Vice Chairman, Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), also inspected the site at Gandhi Chowk where the hawa ghar built by the Maharaja of Kapurthala during the British period is proposed to be shifted further back in order to solve the problem of traffic congestion during peak season.

However, Congress leader Manmohan Singh Mall suggested that the family members of the Maharaja of Kapurthala had requested to consider the proposal without changing the heritage design of the hawa ghar, which was also known as band stand in the early days. Minster Preetam Panwar directed the officials to keep the sentiments of the family which built the hawa ghar into consideration while broadening the area.

He also said that the new structure should be constructed in such a way that it can be utilised for multiple activities.

The Vice Chairman, MDDA, Meenakshi Sundaram, apprised the minister that a toilet and a changing room would be built in the basement of the hawa ghar under the scheme.

The Urban Development Minister also directed the Municipal Council to provide NOC to the MDDA for speedy construction of the Shaheed Sthal at Jhool Ghar.

Preetam Panwar, appalled at the banners and posters pasted in and around the town, directed MC officials to remove such banners and hoardings as they were defacing the town.

The minster directed the council officials to provide shops to the horse owners as an alternative before stopping them from plying on them on Mall Road.

Speaking on the parking problem in Mussoorie, the minster said that the Tourism Department had formulated several schemes in this regard and was working on them judiciously.

The minister visited the site at Library Bazaar to discuss the construction of an alternative route to ease the traffic problem but found it not viable due to the structures in the way of heritage status.

The minister visited the library bus stand area and found it to be feasible for constructing a parking lot, a mall, a bus and taxi stand under one roof. He directed the officials to survey the area and formulate a project according to the needs of the town.

Later, speaking to the media, Preetam Panwar said that the local body’s election would be held around April this year. Preetam Panwar, speaking on the issue of his joining the Congress and the rift with UKD (P) president Trivendar Panwar, said that UKD (P) had always fought for the issue of the common man and there was no rift within the party.

He also said that his joining the Congress was a figment of imagination of some persons who wanted to weaken his party. Panwar said that he was in the UKD and would remain with it in future, too.

Haridwar, January 8
With an intense cold wave sweeping the region, a large number of people are getting afflicted by seasonal diseases. However, with some precautionary measures one can avoid ailments like cold, cough, indigestion, high blood pressure, gastric problems and dehydration.

Dr Teestha Shah, scientific secretary of the Indian Medical Association, while talking to The Tribune, said the intake of water in a sufficient quantity during the winter was a simple measure to avoid seasonal ailments.

Teestha, who had studied hundreds of patients, said a majority of the patients did not take water in a sufficient quantity which had a direct bearing on their digestion system.

“Normally, we need to drink 3 to 4 litre of water and during the winter insufficient consumption of water paves the way for ailments like indigestion, infection and gastric problems. Urinary problems also get worse during the winter due to less water intake while we continue to consume oily, caffeinated and other beverages. Water cleans our inner body system,” he said.

“To clean toxins like urea, sodium and potassium our body needs sufficient water intake as in its absence ailments such as stone or urinal infections occur,” Teestha added.

For women too the intake of water is imperative in the winter as it keeps them safe from the urinary tract infection as well as gives them a glowing and soft skin.

Teestha recommended the consumption of soups, juices, fruits and salads to make up for water deficiency. “We should not think that we don’t get thirsty during the winter and hence don’t need to consume much water,” he added.

“To remain healthy during the winter and also to increase resistance against cold, the intake of water along with fruits is essential as is abstinence from oily, fatty, creamy and spicy food,” he said. 

Dehradun, January 8
Newly elected vice-president of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) for Uttarakhand Saurab Behad has said all office-bearers of the party would work for serving the larger interest of the student community.

Saurab, while addressing a press conference in Dehradun today, said it would be his priority to ensure that all NSUI leaders join hands forgetting their differences. He added redressing the problems of students of various colleges was his top priority.

He said the NSUI was against the frequent rise in fees of colleges and other institutions and would oppose it tooth and nail. The party would also set up a helpline for college students so that their day to day problems were redressed quickly, he added.

Asked about his differences with NSUI state president SS Bhullar, Suarab said he believed in unity in the NSUI and would cooperate with Bhullar.

A national delegate of the NSUI Swati Negi and party leaders Nitin Joshi and Vivek Tiwari were also present on the occasion. 

Dehradun, January 8
In a major success, two of the DAV (PG) College, Dehradun, girl students have won medals, which include first-ever gold for the college in the recently concluded All India Inter University Boxing Championship 2012-13 held at Chhattisgarh.

Representing HNB Garhwal University, Puja Yadav, DAV (PG) College, MA Ist year, sociology student, and Nandani Tiwari, BA IIIrd year student, won gold and bronze medals in the 64 kg and 57 kg categories, respectively. Puja beat a contestant from Panjab University, Chandigarh, in the final. She had in the last university meet won a silver medal in the same category. Puja said she was getting job offers from ONGC and Railways but was yet to take a decision on it. Puja also trains younger girls in boxing at Chidderwala District Boxing Centre.

Nandani Tiwari, who had also got a offer of job from Indo Tibetan Border Police Force, aspires to follow Indian Olympic bronze medallist boxer Mary Kom's footsteps. "I want to surpass Mary Kom's performance in Olympics," Tiwari said.

DAV (PG) College Principal Devendra Bhasin today handed over a cheque of Rs 11,000 to Puja Yadav and Rs 5,100 to Nandani Tiwari for bringing honour to the college. Bhasin disclosed that a total of 90 universities took part in the boxing championship and both Puja and Nandani gave excellent performances.

Sports Department head Satyvrat Tyagi said DAV (PG) College students had been excelling in sports in recent times. He said apart from boxing, students from the college were also excelling in sports disciplines of tennis, basketball and Volleybal.

Dehradun, January 8
The Khalsa (B) Cricket team and the Uttaranchal Dental College team won their respective matches in the 61st Dehradubn District Cricket League played at Col Brown School here today.

In the first match, the Khalsa (B) team defeated Shivalik XI by two wickets. The Khalsa (B) team won the toss and put Shivalik XI to bat first. The Shivalik XI team scored 130 runs in 24.4 overs for the loss of all wickets. Opener Girish was the top scorer with 20 runs while Shaun took four wickets for 27 runs for the Khalsa (B) team.

In reply, the Khalsa (B) team scored 131 runs for the loss of eight wickets and won the match by two wickets. Hunny with 69 runs was the top scorer for the Khalsa (B) team while Pawan took four wickets for 15 runs for Shivalik XI.

In the second match, the Uttaranchal Dental College team beat the Vidhut Vibhag cricket team by 36 runs. The Uttaranchal Dental College team won the toss and elected to bat first. It scored 189 runs in 25 overs for the loss of eight wickets. Bipin scored an unbeaten 50 runs while opener Arun scored 43 runs. Deepak Madhwal took four wickets for 18 runs for the Vidhut Vibhag team.

In reply, the Vidhut Vibhag team was all out for 153 runs in 23 overs and lost the match by 36 runs. Ravi Kumar was the top scorer with 40 runs while Mohammad Akram took four wickets for 12 runs for the Uttaranchal Dental College team.