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Judge: Term minority needs to be given larger meaning
Islamic scholar wants communal violence Bill implemented
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31 MLAs fail to utilise funds
Appeal to conserve state wetlands
Workshop on importance of wetlands in ecosystem
IG Ghildiyal plans special squads to check crime in Kumaon
Foundation Day of Congregation of Brothers celebrated
Governor sends back Coop Societies (Amendment) Bill
face
of the week
Power Corporation uses caller tune as information tool
Grameen Vikas Samiti seeks increase in pension
Yogender Sharma new DG, Health and Family Welfare
Secretariat XI win
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Judge: Term minority needs to be given larger meaning
Dehradun, February 2 “The triumph of India is it's diversity, but we as a country cannot be fully developed unless we have all the communities developed," stated Wajahat Habibullah, Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities. He further stated that the government was keen to address the problem of the minorities, but the bureaucracy makes it something else. Avdhash Kaushal, Chairperson, RLEK, said that “both the non-recognition or inadequate recognition of the minority groups in the public sphere, or in the constitution of those norms that define a society, signifies marginalisation and exclusion.” Further, he stated that India had seen the heinous crimes in Jharkhand where churches were brought down, in UP where an old mosque was demolished, in Kashmir where pundits are displaced but no action has been taken against the perpetrators. We need to make a forum for safeguarding the rights of the minorities.” Asghar Ali Engineer, an eminent social scientist and moderate Islamic scholar, stated: “ The minorities need a sense of security but constitutional guarantee is not enough as it is not being implemented; it is time that the government passes the communal violence Bill.” This workshop was presided over by a group of scholarly people, which included sitting Supreme and High Court Judges. Justice Lokur also stated that there is a dearth of women Judges in the country which strongly indicates that women are still in minority. The first day of the workshop had sessions on topics such as minorities and nation building, rights of minorities, role of the National Commission of Minorities and minorities in Indian literature. This workshop is the first in the series of three workshops; the other two would be held in AMU, Aligarh, and NALSAR, Bangalore. Day two of the workshop would be packed with more sessions related to minority rights. |
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Islamic scholar wants communal violence Bill implemented
Dehradun, February 2 Asghar Ali Engineer was speaking at a workshop on "Legal Rights of Minorities - Understanding Minority Rights, Constitution and Law" organised by the Rural Litigation and Enlightenment Kendra, a voluntary body and supported by Union Ministry of Minorities here today. He said that despite India being a secular democracy and constitutional guarantees assured for the minorities, the government policies are dictated by majoritism. "The fate of the communal violence Bill is an example of such a situation where even a secular government feels helpless due to loss of votes in elections," he said. Engineer said that Muslims in India, who form more than 18 crore population, continue to suffer economically and socially after the Partition. " The Partition of the country in 1947 where the Muslim elite did not agree to the constitutional guarantees to safeguard their interests, and finally became the worst sufferers as they were divided into three countries," he said. Engineer said that only the influential and rich Muslims demanded Pakistan. He further said that the Partition was one of the causes of the socio-economic backwardness of the Muslims as rich and influential migrated to Pakistan, while poor Muslims remained in India as they felt no desire to migrate. Elaborating on the situation of the Muslim community, he said that Sachar Commission report had brought out the true picture of their plight but the Union Government despite making tall promises and gestures, had not done much on the ground. "The resistance of the bureaucracy and the Right wing political groups, including the main Opposition party, also remain a major reason for non-implementation of welfare schemes for Muslims. The Justice Mishra Committee report suggesting reservation for Muslims in jobs also remains unimplemented," he said. However, Asghar Ali Engineer hoped that the country which had withstood many separatist movements has remained united with a secular democracy. 'The Muslims and secular people of the country should continue to work in the given constraints without losing hope," he suggested. |
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31 MLAs fail to utilise funds
Dehradun, February 2 The strategy seems to have worked well for most of the MLAs in the past. Among the 31 MLAs, Uttarakhand Minister for Rural Development Preetam Singh and BJP MLAs Harbajan Singh Cheema, Ajay Tamta and Prem Chand Agarwal, who have all been re-elected, seems to have perfected the strategy of remaining tight fisted through the three years of their tenure and spending only at the fag end of their tenure. The spending records of these MLAs for the period 2007-2012 reveals that they did not spend a single penny as late as 2011, out of the MLA LAD fund. It picked up a pace only in 2012. As the money was non-lapsable and rolls over to subsequent years, the MLAs have devised a political business cycle where the money remains mostly unspent for the first three years and is spent only in the election year. But this month while releasing the fund installment for the MLAs, the Department of Rural Development has come up with new directives according to which only 20 per cent of the funds that remain unspent out of the released funds from the MLA LAD funds would roll over to the subsequent year. The rest will lapse and will not add up in the next fund allocation. “The new guidelines have been issued to ensure the works are announced on time and prevent last minute spending,” said Vinita Kumar, Commissioner, Forest and Rural Development. For initiating development activities in their constituencies, each state MLA receives Rs 2.50 crore under the MLA LAD fund and there is a clamour for a hike. As part of the first installment, Rs 1.5 crore was released in 2012 and the second installment of Rs 74 lakh was released in January 2013.
‘Erring’ MLAs
Zero spending MLAs include Rural Development Minister Preetam Singh, Health Minister Surinder Singh Negi, Water Resource Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani, Finance Minister Indira Hriyadesh, Women Empowerment and Child Development Minister Amrita Rawat, Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and MLAs (Congress) Bhim Lal Arya, Subodh Uniyal, Harish Dhami and Manoj Tiwari. |
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Appeal to conserve state wetlands
Dehradun, February 2 Principal Chief Conservator, Forests, RBS Rawat, on the occasion released the report on “Wetlands of Uttarakhand: A Documentation” and poster on “Medicinal Plants of Uttarakhand” and asked everybody to take the responsibility of conserving their wetlands and biodiversity for sustainable future, in order to secure our water and other natural resources for future generations. Uttarakhand Forest Department Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) DVS Khati called for concrete action towards conservation of high altitude wetlands, which form the recharging point to "our natural resources," and urged the youth to take on the responsibility of protecting their biodiversity. Samvedi, Dehradun Executive Director, Kishore Nautiyal, elucidated the conservation work being done under Samvedi. Among the events held on the occasion included bird watching excursion and painting competition, which was participated by 150 students from 7 Dehradun-based schools. The bird watching session was led by BC Choudhury, a wetland expert. This was intended to help students identify the birds and to understand how they are dependent on wetlands for their survival. It also aimed at understanding the importance of wetlands for sustainability of biodiversity. The bird watching session was followed by a painting competition, where the students drew their understanding of nature and it's sustainability on the canvas. There were more than 150 students from Welham Boys, RIMC-Dehradun, Raja Ram Mohan Rai Academy, Purkul Youth Development Society, Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Dalipur, Carman School, Kunja, and St. Mary Senior Secondary School, Vikasnagar. In painting competition Shiv Varun Singh Rajpur stood first, Rahul Yadav stood second, and Aqsa Iqbal won third prize in senior category, while in junior category Pratiksha Singh, Jasleen Kaur, Rupali Chaudhari won first, second and third prizes, respectively. Three students in each category won consolation prizes. WWF-India, Harish Kumar, head, Terai Arc Landscape Programme, Dehradun, and Jatinder Kaur spoke about the significance of the day. |
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Workshop on importance of wetlands in ecosystem
Dehradun, February 2 Essay-writing, poster-writing and slogan-writing competition for children from 20 Dehradun schools was held. This was intended to help them identify birds and understand how they were dependent on wetlands for survival. Following this, the children were encouraged to paint their thoughts, views and opinions on white banners erected between trees, which were displayed later at the programme for the visitors to see. Riyaz Ahmed of the CEE said the aim of the proagramme was to sensitise students and teachers about the need of saving the wetland and its conservation. Around 20 schools, 200 students and 20 teachers participated in the different activities held during the programme that included poster, slogan writing and essay competition. J P Maithani of the Aagaas Federation said the theme of this year wetlands day "Water takes care of wetlands" held much importance due to falling water levels at wetlands. President of the ARCH Society Prateek Panwar informed the children about the importance of World Wetland Day. He stressed on the efforts to inform the children about the significance of wetland. Dr. Shail of DBS College, Principal DAV Inter-College Dr. AK Shrivastava, Eco Voice Trust president Harendra Rawat and Rahul Nainwal, Karan Singh, Vikas Singh, Anuj Nambudri and Yagya Bhushan Sharma and SS Thapa of the Right To Information Club, Uttarakhand, were also present on the occasion. |
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IG Ghildiyal plans special squads to check crime in Kumaon
Pithoragarh, February 2 Talking to this correspondent after taking charge today, the IG
said that he will give emphasis on crime prevention, besides smooth detection of crimes in the region. "We are deputing 220 more police constables in Nainital and US Nagar districts in the work of maintaining law and order. These constables will be divided into special squads, which will be formed to prevent vehicle thefts and burglaries, which are increasing in these districts," said
the IG. The IG said that crimes related to abduction of women and children will be recorded into commuters for a case could be registered after the assigned time to detect these crimes. "To get good results of our targets, we are strengthening beat policing in the region," said the IG. Citing the recent rise in the incidents of wildlife organs' smuggling across the Indo-Nepal border, the IG said that to prevent smuggling across the border, police thanas and checkposts on the Indo-Nepal border will be asked to undertake more and dense patrolling in their areas on the border. "We will work in cooperation with the SSB to
nab the smugglers on the Indo-Nepal border," said the IG. |
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Foundation Day of Congregation of Brothers celebrated
Dehradun, February 2 The occasion was graced by the presence of the chief guest, Satyavrat Bansal, DGP, Uttarakhand, and Sangeeta Bansal. The programme commenced with Shruti Rawat leading the audience in prayers followed by an illuminating skit that apprised the audience of the formation of the congregation, it's patron saint, St. Patrick, the congregation's contribution in different spheres, including education and healthcare in different parts of the world. The choir then sang the mellifluous hymn 'The Breastplate of St. Patrick.' The programme also included a river dance and a fast-paced hip-hop dance that won thunderous applause from one and all present. The function concluded with the choir's melodious rendition of the song 'The Cloud's Veil.' As a mark of their honour and respect, the students presented bouquets to the Principal, AJ George, the Vice Principal, Dennis Joseph, and the Superior, Sebastian. To mark the occasion, a hilarious play 'Madbeth' was performed by the Avikal Group founded by Alok Ulfat. The remarkable performance of Rupesh Tillu, the script writer as well as the sole performer of the play, left everyone rollicking with laughter. Addressing the gathering, Alok Ulfat, said: "The students of today are awakened to the needs of their environment so they leave a legacy of love and harmony and not of disputes for the next generation." |
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Governor sends back Coop Societies (Amendment) Bill
Dehradun, February 2 The Bill passed in December last year by the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly had proposed the increasing of tenure of the administrator and the committee of the cooperative society from one-and-a-half year to two years. By refusing to sign the Bill, the Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has brought to naught the efforts of the Uttarakhand Government that was keen to increase the tenure of the committees and the administrator. Out of the total 17 Bills passed so far by the new Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, Governor Qureshi has so far refused to given consent to four private varsities Bills. Sources say the Governor had also expressed his reservations on the Bill on private varsities. Meanwhile, the government had already starting the process of holding elections of the cooperative societies in March. |
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face
of the week
A day before taking over as the DGP, he had reacted to the crime scenario saying, “I faced many tough challenges in my long career and each time I prayed to God to show me the right path and things fell in line. I will do the same this time as well.” Fate played hide and seek with him as despite having a blemish-free career, the position of DG kept eluding him. “I never showed desperation or resorted to tactics. I was perhaps destined to become DGP now.” His initial few weeks had been very tough and challenging as the entire city was terrorised by the onslaught of theft incidents taking place. Be it politicians or traders or social organisation, all were protesting over the law and order breakdown. “I faced such challenging couple of time in my career and remembered the Almighty to show me the right path and give me strength. My prayers were always answered. I am sure He will once again lead me to the right way,” he had said in an interview. With the change of guard in the city (new team of the City SSP and special task force) that acted on his vision, the things changed for good in the city. Crime was controlled, traffic flow was improved, drug mafia was reined in and women safety measures were taken up on priority basis. The DGP said, “I have always laid stress on prevention and detection of crime before its occurrence. In less than a year, almost the entire police force will be competent in investigative and computer skills.” While giving his take on the crime rate in the city, he says, “Dacoity and vehicle theft have been fully controlled. Besides, loot up to 95 per cent, burglary 75 per cent and theft up to 68 per cent has been controlled. We are improving upon the grey areas.” On the matter of traffic, he said he would not hesitate in stringently implementing those initiatives which would benefit the public at large while irking some. Sensitive towards the issue of crime against women, he said, “Sensitisation at the police station level will also be taken up. There will be no leniency with perpetrators of the crime against women.” He expressed satisfaction with the steps of launching women cell, toll free numbers and appointment of woman IPS officers to attend to the issues pertaining to women harassment. |
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Power Corporation uses caller tune as information tool
Haridwar, February 2 As soon as one dials the cellphone number of the Power Corporation officials, a voice note will informs the dialer about the various schemes of the corporation. Other details about pending bills, last date of the bill and waving of the late fee are also available. This service is benefiting the consumers as most of their queries or problems get solved by just listening to the tune. Talking to The Tribune, executive officer of the Power Corporation Rakesh Kumar said the move was taken to bridge the gap between the corporation and its consumers. “We are getting good response via the caller tune initiative and the waiving of surcharge on previous unpaid bills impact can be seen, as in the past few days large number of consumers have deposited full amount,” said Rakesh Kumar. He further added that the new information would be added to the existing caller tune to make sure as many consumers get aware of the new schemes and facilities being provided by the corporation. Meena Saini of Shivalik Nagar, while welcoming the caller tune initiative, said she wanted to go to the Power Corporation office for some information but got it when she dialed the mobile number of a local official. The corporation is also contemplating adding new information and resorting to other media tools to become consumer friendly. |
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Grameen Vikas Samiti seeks increase in pension
Dehradun, February 2 Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, samiti’s president Kunwar Singh said the Rs 400 per month pension provided to widows, aged and disabled beneficiaries must be increased to Rs 2000 per month per individual. He said with rising inflation, it was difficult to make two ends meet with a paltry sum of Rs 400 per month. Referring to the issue of hill-plain divide in the state, Kunwar Singh said political parties in the state were trying to divide the state by creating a wedge between the people residing in the hill and plain areas of the state. He also appealed the state government for undertaking women empowerment schemes in the state.
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Yogender Sharma new DG, Health and Family Welfare
Dehradun, February 2 The Uttarakhand government had approved his name during the meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee in December last year. However, his appointment is being challenged by JS Pangtey, Chief Medical Officer, Pithoragarh, who is likely to approach court on the matter. Yogender Sharma, BC Pathak and JS Pangtey belong to the same batch. But Pangtey was not considered for the DPC. But his promotion to the post of Additional Director in the department was delayed by two years.
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Secretariat XI win
Dehradun, February 2 The Directorate of Medical Health after winning the toss elected to field first. The Secretariat XI scored 157 runs all out in 25.5 overs. Opener Deepak Joshi was the top scorer with 54 runs. Pawan took four wickets for 16 runs. In reply, the Directorate of Medical Health team scored 154 runs all out in 24.2 over losing the match by a narrow margin of three runs. Sumit scored 81 runs while TH Khan, Govind and Sunny took two wicket each. |
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Dehradun, February 2
As part of a World Wetlands Day function, the Centre for Environment Education
(CEE) and the Aagaas Federation, Dehradun, today jointly organised a World Wetlands Day exhibition and orientation workshop on the importance of wetlands in the environmental ecosystem at DAV Inter-College here.
To commemorate the historic day of the foundation of the Congregation of the Brothers of St. Patrick, St. Joseph's Academy organised an enlightening programme as it celebrated the 205th foundation day.
Dehradun, February 2