Mussoorie, August 7
Unusual and timely intervention by an NGO working in the area has led to control of a contagious skin disease spreading in Mussoorie.

Dr Venu and Dr Sunil Sanon, members of Manorama Devi Birla Charitable Trust, which runs a mobile health clinic for the patients suffering from various health problems among the poor strata in the area, while returning back from a village in Thatyur, today, noticed a dog suffering from skin disease loitering around in the market area of Barlowganj in Mussoorie.

The doctor couple, realising the danger of the disease spreading from dog to humans, set out on its own to probe further and reached the doorstep of the families to nip the disease in the bud.

The doctors from the NGO found that around 19 persons, including the owner of the dog, were infested with the skin disease. They immediately began the treatment by providing appropriate medicines to the affected persons in order to control it from spreading in other areas.

Dr Sunil Sanon, speaking on the spread of the disease, said that ''sarcoptic mange'' among dogs tends to cause intense itching and results in restlessness and frantic scratching. It also can result in hair loss, reddened skin, body sores and scabs. ''When passed to humans, ''sarcoptic mange'' causes a rash of red bumps, similar to mosquito bites and results in scabies as was evident in Barlowganj,'' added Dr Sunil Sanon.

Govind, one of the affected persons in Barlowganj, said that they were suffering from itching in the skin and attributed it to the monsoons but came to know about the cause of the disease only after they were treated by Dr. Sanon and his wife here.

Meanwhile, neither the Health Department nor the administration had any clue of such disease spreading in the town. When contacted, Medical Superintendent of Government St Mary's Hospital, Dr VK Nautiyal, said that he was not aware of any such cases occurring in the town and if any such cases are reported, the OPD was capable of handling them on a priority basis. However, the apathy of the Health Department can be gauged from the fact that no awareness programme was being conducted to make people aware of the various communicable diseases that occur during the months of monsoons.

Dr Sanon also said that the Health Department can play an important role in curbing the disease by carrying out regular health awareness camps in the community and especially the residential schools so that it does not turn into a major epidemic.

Haridwar, August 7
In view of heavy rains in the state for the past two days, the water level in the Ganga is near the danger mark of 294 metres.

The water level, as per the Central Water Commission Hydrology Observatory, was recorded at 293 metres at Saptsarovar and Neeldhara in the evening.

An alert has been sounded in the catchment and nearby areas with the district administration keeping tabs on the water level.

The District Disaster Management Officer, Dr Naresh Chaudhari, said people living in the vicinity of the Ganga and its adjacent tributaries had been informed that the water level was nearing the danger level for the past two days.

Chaudhari said Jal police personnel, along with disaster management teams, were keeping tabs on the sensitive and flood-prone areas in Haridwar, Lakshar and Khanpur.

The Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, which operates the Ganga canal, has been regulating the water flow in the canal from Chaudhari Charan Singh Bhimgoda barrage and the Mayapur dam on a regular basis to minimise the impact of river spate, alongside the Ganga canal.

The administration is also in touch with Roorkee-based Bengal Engineers Group Sappers, whose help has been taken in the rescue operations in the past few years, during flood-like situation in Haridwar.

Mussoorie, August 7
Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) NS Dangi discussed preparations for the Independence Day celebrations at a meeting held in his office here today.

The meeting was attended by different sections of society consisting of representatives from the Lions Club, MHA, Municipal Council, schools, traders' associations and various eminent citizens of the hill town.

The SDM directed the gathering to celebrate I-Day in a subdued manner in the wake of the recent disaster in the state.

He said schools and other organisations should stay away from organising any cultural event on the day. However, cultural activist Pradeep Bhandari told the SDM that the events to be held on the eve of the Independence Day would not involve any entertainment aspect that could hurt the sentiments of the people of the state.

Therefore, the permission for programmes such as kavi sammelan, debate and declamation should be given to mark the occasion. The SDM finally gave the permission for such programmes but said that all the schools and organisations should avoid any entertainment events.

It was also decided that the Municipal Council and hotel association will bear the cost of cross-country race to be held to mark the occasion.

MC president Manmohan Singh Mall stated that the main celebration on August 15 would be held at Gandhi Chowk, Library Bazar, at 11 am.

The Tricolour would be hoisted by MC president Manmohan Singh Mall. Mussoorie International School students will present patriotic songs to mark the I-Day festivities.

Dehradun, August 7
The National Students Union of India (NSUI), the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) and the Students Federation of India (SFI) have intensified their campaigns to woo voters for the forthcoming students’ union election in DAV (PG) College next month. Though the final date of the election is still to be announced, the college campus is witnessing hectic campaigning by student leaders and their supporters. Aspiring candidates from all students’ unions are wasting no time in trying to muster support.

Posters and banners carrying the names and the photos of the candidates can be seen hung on trees and the walls of the college. Students have also pasted posters on the headlights of their motorcycles and scooters. The students who have taken admission to the college this session are the main target of the students’ unions as they could be the deciding factor in the election.

Both NSUI and ABVP are yet to announce their candidates for the posts of president and general secretary. They are waiting for each other and the SFI to announce their candidates first. An ABVP leader told The Tribune that, “We will announce our candidate for the post of president after the date of the election is announced.” “The canvassing is in full swing as the election date will be announced shortly,” Anshul Chawla, former president of DAV (PG) College students’ union, said.

At present, Mahesh Jagudi of the ABVP is the president of the college students’ union and the party is trying hard to retain the post. On the other hand, the NSUI is also working hard to win the president’s post, which it has failed to do for the last six years. Swati Negi is the frontrunner from the NSUI for the president’s post.

Dehradun, August 7
Resource Alliance India today released the list of the finalists competing for the India NGO Awards 2012-13.

The India NGO Awards is a unique, national competition that aims at celebrating and rewarding the best non-governmental and non-profit organisations by showcasing examples of best practise and successful resource mobilisation. The 2012-2013 awards are jointly funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the EdelGive Foundation and are organised by Resource Alliance.

Over 270 NGOs from across the country competed in three different categories based on their annual budget. Raphel Ryder Cheshire, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, has been selected as one of the finalists for India NGO Award 2012-13 between the annual budget of Rs 1crore and Rs 5 crore by the Resource Alliance.

Surat Sandhu, chairman of Resource Alliance India, said, "NGOs in India are doing an exemplary job and this award has been instituted to give them recognition they deserve."

A total of 13 NGOs have been selected for the final round and they will be profiled in a casebook and film, which will be disseminated at the awards ceremony through the Resource Alliance website and other social media and will also be offered 10 days of one-to-one mentoring to strengthen their internal system and processes.

Dehradun, August 7
The phone lines of Disaster Control Room of Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), which receives complaints regarding problems cropping up or damage due to excessive rain water in various parts of the city, did not function yesterday because of continuous spell of rain. The phone lines went out of order, owing to which no complaints could be registered. The non-stop rain also resulted in leaking roofs of many rooms in this old premises of DMC. Owing to such a leakage in the computer room, many computers stopped working.

Not only this, the staff which deals with the land related cases came out of the room as the water got collected on tables and almirahs. The employees sat outside. A staff member said he feared important files related to cases and proposals could get spoilt with possibility of water trickling inside the almirah.

Another employee complained that each year the employees had to face the same problem. Still the officials never got the roofs repaired. A thin layer of sand over the affected parts after rains proved useless.

The situation in the room of Project Implementation Unit was not good either. 

Dehradun, August 7
Four quarterfinal matches were played in the ongoing CBSE Sahodaya School Complex Inter-School Football Tournament at Scholars' Home School in Dehradun here today.

Two matches were played in the junior category and two in seniors. In the first match of the day in junior category, in a one-sided game, Asian School defeated Jimp Pioneer School with a score of 6-1. Scholars' Home got a walkover, as DSB Rishikesh team did not come for the match.

On other hand, in the senior category, Jimp Pioneer won its match after defeating Manav Bharti School with a tally of 1-0. In the second match in senior category, Asian School defeated Doon Global School by 2-1 to enter the semifinals.

Notably, the remaining three matches in the quarterfinals will be played on Thursday.

Haridwar, August 7
Noted Indian musician, composer, lyricist and Padmashree awardee Ravindra Jain has expressed his displeasure over growing western influence and lack of devotion among the young composers and listeners.

Ravindra Jain ,who had given music for epic ''Ramayana'' television serial and a lineage of Bollywood blockbuster musicals like ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' and ''Ankhiyon Ke Jharoken Se'' to name a few, was in the city recently.

On the sidelines of a function, the veteran musician in a brief chat saluted the big stalwarts Hindi music-cum-Bollywood industry has produced, who laid emphasis on the classical music and touching the chord of the listener with melodious compositions.

Jain, who won the Filmfare Best Music Director Award for Raj Kapoor’s magnum opus ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' in 1985, said that just churning loud-beat oriented music is not music in the real sense, but touching the hearts with melodious music that remains etched forever in one's ear is the best one.

Ravindra Jain said that remaining away from classical music, riyaz , hard work and persistence had made the current music lose soul and that’s why today many musicians and producers were reverting to remakes of old classical movies as well as hit numbers.

He said that 60s, 70s and 80s had high standard music but today’s music hub had only taken strides in terms of technology, not in terms of quality. However, Jain said every generation reflected itself in its own way.

On the spree of talent hunt-singing shows that have cropped up in almost every television channels, Jain has a word of caution for the young participants.

He remarked that reality talent shows were a wonderful platform to showcase your talent but the problem was that most of the newcomers after getting limelight wanted to become overnight stars, thinking they had enough material to shine.

But without consistent hard work,riyaz and patience ,adhering to short-cut routes will not prove successful in the end.

''Mortal man, immortal melodies--- this line holds true for this legendary musician, who successfully touched hearts of the listeners with his music and lyrics ,despite being blind since childhood.