Bhatt lambasts govt for ''failure'' to sense gravity of disaster
Speaker allows Opposition discussion on catastrophe under Section 310
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 18
The first day of the monsoon session of the Uttarakhand Assembly session that began today was devoted to the mid-June disaster and the Tuesday night’s firing that allegedly took place at Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat’s residence.

After being allowed discussion under rule 310 by the Speaker of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly Govind Singh Kunjwal, who said the issue was of great importance and required debate, the Leader of the Opposition Ajay Bhatt began by blaming the ''ineptitude'' of the Congress government that failed to sense the gravity of the situation and this ultimately led to large-scale death and devastation.

“Several lives could have been saved if the government had been prompt in its response and called the Army early but it failed to respond. We do not blame the government for bringing the disaster as it was brought by nature but the manner in which the government functioned was marked by sheer carelessness, lack of coordination and complete collapse of the government machinery,” he said.

Bhatt further said that the government ignored the warnings of its own Intelligence Department that was issued on June 15 about the possibility of heavy rain and need to stop the yatra.“I fail to understand why the suggestions were not taken into account,” he said.

Recounting the Kargil war, where the government had made efforts to send the bodies of dead soldiers home during the BJP government’s rule at the Centre, Bhatt said that the bodies should have been taken out at the same time the rescue operation was on. “Even those bodies extricated by the police have not been cremated properly. The government has gone to the extent of using material from the houses that have been abandoned by the locals for lighting the pyre,” he said.

Further, taking the government to task on the discovery of bodies from higher reaches, Bhatt said that the government took the combing operation only after the Opposition expressed fear that several bodies were still lying in the higher reaches. “I charge you for failing to provide help to the people who took shelter in the upper reaches. It is pure murder and a case of murder should be registered against the government,” said Bhatt.

Speaking for more than two hours, he touched upon the issue of poor publicity that had resulted in the complete collapse of tourism in the state.

Firing salvo after salvo against the government, Bhatt questioned the need to hold a party where gunshots were fired when the government was still recovering from a natural calamity. “There was nothing to celebrate but it seems the way gunshots were fired in which a statehood activist was injured, those who attended the party were in a celebratory mood,” he said.

Taking a dig at the poor law and order situation in the state, Bhatt said that they have already asked for a judicial enquiry into the incident. “I request the Speaker to intervene in the matter so that the evidence of gunshots could be seized from the scene of action,” he said.

Replying to the debate Shaila Rawat, MLA from Rudraprayag, said that Bhatt was wrong in comparing the incident with Kargil. “The Army and other agencies pushed themselves beyond their limits to rescue people but the dimensions of the scene of tragedy were widespread as weather continued to remain hostile. We were fighting against nature,” she said.

She urged the Opposition to play a constructive rule and not do politics on bodies. She also clarified that the decision to undertake prayers on September 11 at Kedarnath had gone down well with the people. “It was the swarsiddha mahurat and the message has gone down well with the people.

Protest rallies disrupt traffic
Tribune News Service

A UKD (Airy) worker being taken away by the police for holding a protest near the Assembly complex in Dehradun on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Dehradun, September 18
The traffic snarls in the city got worse due to various protest rallies and marches on the first day of the monsoon session of the state Assembly here today.

Major traffic disruptions were reported from Haridwar Road, especially near the Rispana bridge, and hundreds of four-wheelers and bikes got stranded in a long queue of traffic jam.

In a bid to curb the protest marches, barricades have been erected at many points near the Assembly complex, which also proved to be a major traffic bottleneck.

In the afternoon, Shiksha Acharya members carried a massive rally towards the complex in support of their demands but were stopped before the Rispana bridge on Haridwar Road. After hours of heated arguments between the police and the protesters, the police arrested the protesters and sent them to Suddhowala Jail. The rally resulted into long rows of stranded vehicles on Haridwar Road and it took hours to reach the destination.

On other hand, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) of the Airy faction took put a march in support of their demand of making Gairsain permanent capital of the state. The march was stopped well before reaching anywhere close to the complex. City SP Jagdish Chandra said, “We will keep a close tab on all rallies and protest marches during the entire session and try to stop them from reaching the Assembly complex to ensure trouble-free sessions.”

Youth being persuaded to join Aam Aadmi Party

Dehradun, September 18
To strengthen its support base in the state capital, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) organised its membership drive here today.

AAP members, led by district in charge Sanjay Bhatt, gathered at Survey chowk and persuaded passerby students into becoming members of the political outfit.

They tried to convince young voters about the need to be active in politics.“Our whole focus is on the youth. That is why we are organising the drive near colleges. Nearly 200 new members have joined the AAP in the past three days”, said Sanjay Bhatt. He expressed hope that the youth of the state would show confidence in the AAP. —TNS

Damaged pipelines, canals yet to be repaired in Kumaon
Flood-ravaged region reels under water crisis
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 18
People of the Kumaon region are facing the problem of drinking water on account of the pipelines that got damaged in the mid-June calamity. Besides, thousands of hectares in the region are not getting irrigated due to damaged irrigation channels.

Sources in the regional office of the Irrigation Department at Haldwani said the disaster damaged over 465 canals and 140 other projects for which a total estimate of Rs 52.47 crore was sent to the government immediately after the disaster. However, the amount had not been released so far and work on these projects could not be started. “We received only Rs 317.36 lakh against our estimate of Rs 52.47 crore from the authorities under the district magistrates in the region,” said an official of the department at Haldwani.

The sources said out of 59 irrigation projects damaged in Pithoragarh district, 38 were canals and two lift drinking water schemes. “We got Rs 50 lakh against our estimate of Rs 17.13 crore to repair these damaged schemes in the district,” said MS Dobhal, engineer, Irrigation Department, Pithoragarh district.

In Bageshwar district, the Irrigation Department has sent a proposal of Rs 577.95 lakh for the repair and reconstruction of 126 damaged projects, including 108 canals, but the department could get only Rs 5 lakh for the work. “This is the amount by which we cannot even purchase essential equipment for the background work,” said an engineer in Bageshwar.

A total of 462 canals, 140 relief schemes, 21 lift irrigation schemes, two drains, fine lakes, one bridge and one approach road, besides two buildings and two tube wells, were damaged in the region.

Sarojini Kaintura named chief of Mussoorie BJP women's cell
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, September 18
Sarojini Kaintura was named president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women's cell, Mussoorie unit, for the third time in a row during the newly constituted executive committee meet held at a hotel in Mussoorie today.

In addition to this, Suman Panwar was named the general secretary for Mussoorie town while Pooja Gurung was named secretary for the Dehradun region here.

Dwarika Gaud was nominated at the post of vice-president,Meera Kandari, Sunita Dabral and S.Saifi for the posts of secretary. Sunita Panwar, Sangeeta Godiyal, Sunita,Kaita Rana,Saroj,Sunita Rawat, Aasha Panwar, Shanti, Leela and Suman Doudiyal were named as executive committee members on the occasion.

The district BJP women's president Vandana Thakur congratulated the newly nominated members on the occasion. Thakur, speaking on the occasion, said that the women members will play an important role during the gherao of the legislative Assembly by BJP tomorrow. She also said that Bharatiya Janata Party would win the 2014 elections under the able leadership of Narendar Modi.

UKD (Aeri) protests against ''poor'' flood relief management
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 18
Members of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Aeri) led by party president Kashi Singh Aeri protested near Vidhan Sabha premises on the very first day of session primarily against the alleged inadequacies in the relief management for flash flood disaster victims. The police did not let the agitators cross the barricades.

While ranting slogans against the state government, Kashi Singh Aeri said: “It has been three months since the disaster ravaged several villages and killed thousands of people, but state government has not been able to provide relief to the victims and families of the deceased till date. Despite the relief supply sent by various states, organisations and volunteers in large amounts, it has not been distributed fairly among all the victims. The relief assistance amount, too, has not been disbursed among all the victims so far.”

He said the affected people were suffering for want of food, clothing, shelter and monetary assistance while the state government appeared nonchalant about their plight. He blamed the government for distributing the booty among themselves instead.

“The way the state government had distributed the relief fund when the calamity struck in year 2010 in Kumaon region among themselves and, hapless people were left waiting in agony, the same situation is being repeated now. The thousands of crores sent for relief assistance are being shared between government and bureaucrats,” he alleged.

He also targeted the bureaucracy, saying that this section of society did not let the benefits percolate to the deserving people and created bottlenecks in the process.

Aeri also took potshots at the alleged negligence shown towards the statehood agitators. He said it was due to the slackness towards the statehood agitators that the government could not solve the problem with regard to reservation of statehood agitators and their dependents in the state government jobs. He said the state government must rectify its mistake and fight the case strongly in the apex court. He also censured the state government on the deteriorating law and order in the state and said his party would hold extensive agitations on these issues from October 2 onwards across the state.

In the protest, party leaders Narender Rawat, Asha Sharma, Bahadur Singh Rawat, Virender Singh Bisht and Shailash Guleri also participated.

Hindi Divas celebrated
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 18
VARSHA, a voluntary group, organised ‘Rajbhasha Samman’ to celebrate Hindi Divas here today. The programme was supported by KNNC Real Estates and GK Group of Companies.

Jaswant Singh Bhullar, CMD, GK Group, who was the chief guest on the occasion, appealed to the people to adopt and promote Hindi.

Sushil Kumar Srivastava, Chief Editor of magazine Roshni Darshan, also spoke on the occasion.

Ashish Kumar, head of projects, VARSHA, explained the relief work being carried out by the organisation for the disaster-affected. Several eminent Hindi writers and journalists were honoured on the occasion.

Girl's amputated finger re-attached

Dehradun, September 18
Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun, a premier healthcare service provider in Uttarakhand, successfully reattached a completely amputated finger of a 17-year-old girl by performing a nine-hour marathon surgery.

The girl cut her finger while operating a washing machine when suddenly her right hand got caught in it and the index finger got severed. She was rushed to a hospital and observing her critical vascular injury, she was recommended to Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun.

On examining, the doctors found that the finger was severely damaged due to avulsion injury (twisting force) and was totally amputated and came out through a joint with significant damage to the fragile blood vessels, nerves, tendons and skin. There was no blood supply to the finger. Fixing the amputated finger involved joining the slender arteries, veins and functional nerves, which had to be done as early as possible for the amputated part to survive.

The plastic and microvascular surgery team Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun, led by Dr Vipin Barthwal, along with a team of anaesthetists, worked relentlessly for over nine hours to re-establish all the vital parts of the finger such as bones, tendons, nerves, arteries and veins.

Taking about the surgery, Dr Vipin Barthwal, plastic, reconstructive and microvascular surgeon at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun, said these kinds of surgeries were complex and any significant delay in restoring blood supply could result in irreversible damage and permanent death of the amputated part. In case of a clean cut by a sharp knife or blade, the chances of finger surviving after re-implantation were as high as 80-90 per cent if the blood circulation was restored in time, said Dr Barthwal. He said the damage to the tissues was extensive and chances of success were as bleak as 20-30 per cent.

Meanwhile, post surgery, the girl received dressings at regular intervals in the hospital for a week. The girl’s finger will be functional within four-six weeks and she will be able to write and hold objects. —TNS

‘Flute sisters’ capture souls through their mesmerising performance
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 18
Under SpicMacay Virasat-2013 series, the 'flute sisters', Suchismita and Debopriya Chatterjee performed flute recitals at Ecole Globale International Girls' School, Sahaspur, today.

The concert started with the sisters performing the afternoon raga 'shudh sarang'. In an interactive session, the students of the school asked questions and Suchismita answered them. She said the flute used by them was the original flute, the kind that even lord Krishna had used.

The classical compositions played by the duo captivated the audience. They were accompanied by Jay Shankar Mishra, an accomplished tabla player from Benaras Gharana.

The sisters have been trained by the eminent flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. "Even today we are under his shadow," Suchismita said.

The sisters are among the very few performing women flautists in India. Debopriya was bestowed upon with the 'Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar' for the year 2008 by the Sangeet Natak Academy. 

Shiksha Acharyas' march bid towards Assembly foiled
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 18
The Shiksha Acharyas today held a protest march towards the legislative assembly complex on Haridwar Road in support of their demands. However, they were stopped by the police before reaching the assembly.

Heated arguments were exchanged between the police and the protesters and police also resorted to lathi charge against the protesting Shiksha Acharyas and Anudeshaks, injuring many of them. Later, they were arrested and sent to Suddhowala jail.

The Shiksha Acharya and Anudeshak Association has been holding agitation in the state capital since the past 473 days in support of their demand of accommodating Shiksha Acharyas into the vacant positions of Shiksha Mitra in the state.

Dengue-like symptoms found in Bageshwar woman
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 18
Symptoms similar to that of dengue have been found in a woman hailing from Bageshwar, who is admitted to a Delhi hospital.

Earlier, Lata Joshi, a resident of Talar village in the Rawainkhal area of Bageshwar, was under treatment at a local hospital, from where she was referred to Delhi.

“During tests, her platelet count was found low, which is one of the symptoms of dengue. Owing to her bad health, we referred her to Delhi for further diagnosis,” said Chandra Pant, Chief Medical Officer, Bageshwar.

Pant said the woman was admitted to a Bageshwar hospital after she complained of headache and fever. “When she did not recover even after so many days of treatment, she was referred to Delhi.” said Vipin Chandra Joshi, a relative of the woman.

Villagers said three persons, who complained of similar symptoms, died in the past three months. 

Pithoragarh under big cat fear
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, September 18
The residents of several areas of the district are being forced to live under the fear of man-eating leopards roaming in the area. The leopards have killed two children, several animals and have injured many in the past few days.

The villages facing the leopard menace are in the Gangolihat, Chandak and Pankhu area of the district. According to the information received from Gangolihat, the leopards killed two minor children in Devtung Bhanar and Baligaon villages two days ago and created panic among the schoolchildren of the area. “We have submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, requesting the government to give orders to kill the leopards”, said Hargovind Rawal, a social worker of the area.

According to the information, the leopard menace gripped the villages situated within a radius of 6 km, resulting in women remaining inside their houses due to the fear of the man eater. “We have deputed 20 forest employees to trap the leopard and have sought permission from the chief wild life warden of the state to kill the carnivore”, said MS Semia, SDO of Pithoragarh forest division.

“We have asked the forest officers to compensate the villagers and install a cage in the forest to trap the leopard”, said Keshar Singh, a social worker of the area, who met the forest officers today.

Corbet National Park gets aluminium boat
Tribune News service

Dehradun, September 18
Brijendra Singh, honorary warden of Corbet National Park, has donated a new commando aluminium boat to the park authorities. Brijendra was upset about the drowning of a forest guard at the Gaujera Chowki in July. In his letter to the director of the Park, he said if a boat or even a ‘doongha' had been stationed in the area, there was a possibility that the guard could have been saved.

In April this year, the Chief Minister had visited the Corbett National Park and consented to grant a boat to the Corbett Tiger Reserve, but it had not yet arrived. Brijendra said the boats in the reserve were dangerous and totally unsafe so he had decided to present the Corbett Tiger Reserve Foundation with a aluminium boat. This kind of a boat is in use by the Indian Army too for patrolling purposes and has proved very useful.

The boat was handed over by Brijendra to the Park authorities on September 17.

One killed in accident
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, September 18
One person was killed and another was injured in an accident at Chaanmaari in the Cantonment area here today.

According to the police, Deepak Bist and Ankit Rawat were going on their motorbike towards Johri-Mussoorie Road when their motorbike collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite side. Deepak was killed in the mishap while Ankit was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.