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Not issued voter cards, residents hold protest
Banks to beef up security
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SSP to monitor policing in villages
IPS officer plans encouraging girls to take police help
Woodstock staff enchant full-house audience with musical show
Hike in road tax for commercial vehicles withdrawn
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Not issued voter cards, residents hold protest
Haridwar, February 7 Many persons complained of not being counted for voter cards though they had been living in the city for the last three decades and were having ration cards and houses. The protesters also alleged that some political parties were helping slum-dwellers and people from other states to get voter identity cards, while residents of the city were being ignored by the district election office. They said this was being done to influence a specific vote bank in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. JP Pandey, a leader of the manch, alleged that there were mass discrepancies in the voter identification process and the district election office was not paying heed to their complaints. This forced them to stage the protest. The protesters handed over a memorandum to the Executive Officer of the Municipal Corporation and Assistant Election Officer Arvind Pandey in this regard. Meera Raturi, Chandrawati Gaud, Rita Verma, Mona Yadav, Sumicha Kashyap, Urmila Devi, Meena Devi, Shankuntala, Dharam Pal Bharati, Nafeem Ahmed and Farman Ali were among others who participated in the protest.
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Banks to beef up security
Haridwar, February 7 The district police is also taking the matter seriously with impromptu checkings being conducted at various bank branches on the city periphery. The banks have also accepted the police suggestion of revamping their security by installing more CCTV cameras, deployment of at least two security personnel on one shift and seeking the police help whenever any hefty cash transaction being carried out by customer. Circle Officer Rajesh Bhatt today carried out checkings at several bank branches where he expressed displeasure over inadequate CCTVs, security personnel and other measures being in place. Be it untrained security guards hired from private security agencies, outdated ammunition, non-working CCTV cameras, insufficient fire extinguishers or redundant theft alarms, various flaws were found by the Circle Officer during his inspection of which he took strong cognizance. As flaws in resolution and installation of number of CCTVs were found, bank managers have assured him of high definition resolution cameras to be put in at right angles as per police directives. Due to existing angles, there was problem in identifying faces of the people coming under CCTV scanner. Punjab National Bank Assistant General Manager, Ahmadpur branch, Puneet Jain Mittal, said they were keeping security measures updated as per inputs given by the police as it is in the best interests of the bank only. The CO said in future too, similar checking drive would be carried out. It was found that had respective bank branches taken sufficient preventive security measures, many robbery cases would have been thwarted or culprits easily identified by the better resolution and placed cameras. "As robbers are adopting smart tactics so we have to upgrade our safety systems and measures. We can't leave everything to the police alone and small measures sometimes help in avoiding thefts," added a bank official.
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SSP to monitor policing in villages
Dehradun, February 7 He also said the issues pertaining to family disputes would be taken up on Sunday. He would preside over such sessions. Circle Officer Mamta Vohra would also be
present. A "Bada khana" is also being organised in the Police Lines on February 10 where Station House Officers of each police stations would be allowed to bring five good performing staffers at the feast.
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IPS officer plans encouraging girls to take police help
Dehradun February 7 IPS officer and head of the cell Vimmi Sachdeva has chalked out plans to instill confidence among the women in this regard and update them about the potent legal provisions meant for their protection. Soon, she is going to hold play competitions in schools on the issue and a workshop for 35,000 working women in the industrial sector at SIDCUL in Haridwar. Vimmi has also been entrusted with the task to go through the investigations in the cases filed by women complainants or involving women as victims. She said the promptness shown in the initial stages in such cases was soon forsaken, directly benefiting the accused and disappointing the women. Vimmi, who got the charge of the SWHC a month ago, said she along with policewomen had interacted with schoolgirls in Udham Singh Nagar but none of them was ready to tell her about harassment they might be facing in terms of stalking, eve-teasing, calls or messages. She said she would hold play competitions in various schools, initially in Dehrdun, where the girls would be provided with a topic to write a script and enact it as well. This brain-storming activity would not only invoke interest among the participants but also the audience. In this way, she would come to know about their views on the matter. After each such play she would reward the winner team and throw light on the legal provisions regarding the issue. Another workshop for some 35,000 working women in SIDCUL is in pipeline on the same topic. DGP Satyavrat Bansal is scheduled to inaugurate the workshop. Regarding sensitising the police station level, Vimmi said strict instructions had been given that two women constables, who are connected to the SWHC, be deputed in each police station to deal with women complainants with sympathy and dignity. On the matter of complaints coming to her from women across the state, Vimmi said, “The toll free contact number, 18001804147, is not much used in comparison to district number 1090 where the district police receives the complaints. It is also easy for the district police to swing in action swiftly on the complaint. I take reports from each district about the calls received by them on a daily basis and give further directions accordingly.”
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Renovation work on Shaheed Sthal in Mussoorie halted
Mussoorie, February 7 The Cultural Department sought the assistance of the executive agency, the Rural Engineering Service (RES), which had begun the renovation by removing the tin roof of the Shaheed Sthal two months back. But it was forced to stop the work by members of the Mussoorie Shaheed Smarak Samiti who, at a meeting chaired by Urban Development Minister Preetam Panwar held recently, contested that the work should be done by the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) as it was much better placed to provide it a grand look befitting its stature. Thereafter, Preetam Panwar directed the Municipal Council to provide No-Objection Certificate to the MDDA so that the job could be done according to the aspirations of the Shaheed Smarak Samiti. Following this, the Cultural Department withdrew its hands from the project half way leaving the work incomplete. MDDA officials showing their ignorance in the matter said they were yet to receive any written approval in this regard. The ambiguity over the decision of which the agency would execute the renovation and beautification work at Shaheed Sthal has irked many statehood agitators who have alleged that some senior Congress leaders, who are also members of the Shaheed Smarak Samiti, had conspired to stall the renovation work at Shaheed Sthal due to vested interest. Statehood agitator Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi said the Congress was given one room below the Saheed Sthal to run party affairs in the town but they had usurped the adjacent area where the tourists use to take refuge during rainy weather and converted it into a Congress bhavan illegally. He warned that as the sentiments of the statehood agitators were attached with the building, the renovation work should be restarted without any further delay otherwise the agitators would take to streets as mark of protest. Another statehood agitator Dwijendar Bahuguna was of the view that the Shaheed Sthal should consist of a library and museum. The residents are angry at the differences between various organisations over the issue as a result the renovation and beautification work has suffered to the extent that the whole building has remained in a dilapidated condition much to the ire of all concerned here. Municipal Council President OP Uniyal said a proposal was passed at the meeting chaired by Urban Development Minister Preetam Panwar where it was decided that the MDDA would do the renovation work, but if the politicking over the issue continues and no solution is sought, the Municipal Council will take back the No-Objection Certificate and begin the work. A smarak member, who is also president of the Mussoorie Congress unit Bhagan Singh Dhanai, said their intention in proposing the MDDA as the executive agency was to determine that the renovation work is done in accordance with the aspiration of the people and nothing more. When questioned about the Congress usurping the adjacent area just below the Saheed Sthal for the party work, he said there was nothing illegal in it as the Municipal Council had leased the area to the Congress several years back. However, the major sufferer in this whole political milieu is the Shaheed Sthal which is still awaiting the renovation and beautification work and till then the martyrs will have to wait for the rightful due which they deserve.
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Shopkeepers challaned for violating polythene ban
Dehradun, February 7 Around 42 challans were issued against the offending shopkeepers, whereas a penalty of Rs 6,000 was collected on the spot. Yesteday when the City Magistrate issued challans to the erring shopkeepers, they fiercely opposed him. Afterwards, an FIR against one shopkeeper was registered.
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Woodstock staff enchant full-house audience with musical show
Mussoorie, February 7 The musical show based on the Peanuts cartoon strip by Charles M Schulz, that was premiered in New York in 1967 and since has appeared on Broadway and in London's West End, was much appreciated by the audience here. The international cast was made up of 16 staff members from four different countries; India, the USA, the UK and New Zealand. The cast also had a good cross-section of the school's staff base, with nine teaching staff members, three dorm parents and four support staff, who were able to bring the hall down with raptures through their scintillating performance. The school's new Dean and professional actress Bethany Okie, who directed the show, said that all actors had been busy rehearsing their lines over the winter break, and returned back to Mussoorie early in order to prepare themselves for the show, which went off well with the audience here. Music and choir teacher Abe Okie played the leading role of Charlie Brown, ESL teacher Meredith Dyson played Lucy, while Hostel dorm parent Devan Landseidel played the part of Snoopy the dog. Communications associate Ed Beavan played the part of Linus in the comedy. "It's been hard work coming straight from the break into an intensive rehearsal schedule, and we had a ball performing in front of the audience comprising the school students," said Ed Beavan. Another actor Meredith Dyson who played the role of Lucy Van Pelt said: " We did not have much time, but under the expert guidance of Bethany, who has already directed a number of stunning shows at Woodstock, including Brigadoon and Macbeth, the actors performed with confidence and great finesse, which was awesome." Woodstock Principal Jonathan Long said the show had promised to be a 'theatrical extravaganza' and the musical show with the wide-ranging talent of Woodstock staff did live up to expectations.The other cast for the show included Sally Brown, which played by Bethany Irby, Schroeder by Lindsay Boyd, Patty by Kirsten Beavan,Pig-pen by Steve Luukkonen, Marcie by Melanie Reichwald, Franklin by Adi Manral, Rerun van Pelt by Ritika Roy, Little Red-Haired Girl by Julia Schroeder, Frieda by Anne McGregor, Roy by Enosh Thomas,Violet Gray by Rachna Peter and Shermy by Mark Windsor. Jessie Huang at the piano and Chris Rhatigan and Sohail Dass at bass and drums, respectively, enchanted the audience with their performance. The repeat of the musical show will be held on February 8 and 9 at the same venue, enlivening the weekend.
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Hike in road tax for commercial vehicles withdrawn
Dehradun, February 7 The reduced road tax would be effective from December 2012. Now, according to the reduced road tax, the Vikrams would have to pay Rs 730 instead of Rs 1000. The Rs 25 surcharge on AC taxis has also been withdrawn. Besides, to rein the errant Vikram owners, the government has also decided to impose a fine of Rs 2200 per extra passenger (according to seating capacity).— TNS
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Haridwar, February 7
In view of the recent cases of bank robberies, several nationalised and private sector-run banks in the district have decided to revamp their security.
