|
|
|
|
|
Crusader: State needs to consolidate scattered hill land to serve farmers
Govt looks for land to build museum to display seventh century idols
|
|
|
Doon DM convenes meeting on flyovers, railway bridges
Edusat programme to cover more govt colleges
Arms licences to be cancelled if details not furnished: DM
Massive rally by trade unions and federations
Govt turns deaf ear to unemployed teachers’ demand
Man-eating leopard caught in
Gangolihat
11 Joint Directors promoted
|
|||||||||||
|
Crusader: State needs to consolidate scattered hill land to serve farmers
Most of the landholdings in Garhwal and Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand are scattered, making it not viable for agriculture. Thus, chakbandi envisages consolidating this scattered land to serve farmers. It involves providing alternate land to the owner in lieu of its scattered land so that he could get a single piece of land in a stretch. Ganesh Singh Garib, who has been vociferously demanding implementation of chakbandi in the hill regions of Kumaon and Garhwal since 1975, asserted that political leadership despite understanding the importance of chakbandi for the hills has till date failed to show determination and grit towards its implementation. He reminded that way back in 1989, his efforts to get chakbandi did yield some fruits when the then UP government opened up two offices, one at Pauri in Garhwal division and other at Almora in Kumaon division to ensure speedy conduct of land consolidation process. But that proved of little relevance in the absence of will on the part of political leadership to implement it and the offices, too, closed subsequently. He said even the then BJP Garhwal MP BC Khanduri subsequently raised the issue in Parliament. Even after formation of Uttarakhand, nothing much has changed. ''There was a ray of hope that after creation of Uttarakhand, chakbandi will finally see the light of the day. But political parties in power in the state, both BJP and Congress, failed to take this forward,'' Garib argued. He said that he himself had been part of Bhum Sudhar Parishad and Chakbandi Pramarsh Samiti set up following creation of a separate state, but both the committees failed to move even a step forward towards implementation of chakbandi in Uttarakhand. ''It is a peculiar paradox that while every government accepts it, nobody implements it,'' Garib said referring to chakbandi. He disclosed that he was now keeping last hope from the incumbent state government, which has taken to constitutional recourse to make land consolidation necessary for Garhwal and Kumaon hills. Referring to significance of chakbandi (Land consolidation), Garib said lack of consolidation of land in hills had resulted in a complete annihilation of agriculture in Garhwal and Kumaon hills. ''Land in hills is fast turning barren. Employment opportunities are shrinking, resulting in large scale migration,'' he pointed out. He said there was a continuous migration from border villages, which was also a security concern, adding that consolidation of land was the sole answer to deal with these challenges. |
||
|
Govt looks for land to build museum to display seventh century idols
Pithoragarh, September 25 According to information, the department, which was trying to find a permanent home for these idols to attract tourists, had written to the government, which in turn has started looking for land to place these idols. Lalit Farswan, MLA, Kapkot, said he had been demanding the construction of a museum at Baijnath to place these rare idols for tourism purpose. “Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat has assured the House in a reply to my question during the recently-concluded session that the government has started looking for land to construct a museum to display these idols,” said Farswan. The sources said over 108 idols of the seventh century were at present kept in a room to ensure their security. “Besides these well-carved idols, there are 57 stone idols of Lord Shiva, Ganesha, Nag, Surya and others of the same period,” said Chandra Singh Chauhan, an officer from the Department of Archaeology and Culture, Almora. Chauhan said if these idols could be kept at one place, cultural tourists could be attracted to Bageshwar to watch these rare crafted idols. “The idols as well as the Baijnath temple were constructed during the regime of Katyur kings in the 8th century. Thus they have an archaeological value of high degree,” he added. |
||
|
Doon DM convenes meeting on flyovers, railway bridges
Dehradun, September 25 Executive Engineer of working agency, Engineering Project India limited, Sanjay Tripathi demanded an alternative place near Jogiwala and Bhandari Bagh to dispose of the debris after carrying out the digging exercise for the purpose of construction of flyovers. At this Purushottam directed the tehsildar to identify under-construction sites where debris was lying and let the working agency know of it. Tripathi informed Purushottam that their company EPIL, which is also known as Mini Ratna Company, worked under Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. The company undertook the construction works of flyovers, railway bridges and overbridges throughout the country. The other facts which were brought forth in the meeting were that the permission for felling of trees which came in the way were sought from District Forest Office. Similarly, traffic lights at Ballupur and Balliwala crossings will also be removed. The traffic police will be told about it. However, for the convenience of the public, the lights over these crossings will be maintained as it is. The arrangements of barricading the construction sites of flyovers will also be ensured for safety purpose. All the electrical facilities will be provided by Uttarakhand Power Corporaiton limited to the working agency to carry out the construction work within one week. The DM directed the tehsildar to engage area Lekhpal and Patwari with the officials of working agency in order to complete the work related to identification of the related land and examination of land documents and also of those sites in the areas concerned which had been illegally occupied. Sanjay Tripathi demanded five acres of land where the agency could set up its hot-mix plant, other paraphernalia, including heavy machines and vehicles on lease for two years. He said some members of traders associations of Ballupur and Balliwala crossing were interfering in their work for which the SSP had been appealed to provide for additional police force, so that their work could proceed unabated. Purushottam assured Tripathi that the district administration would give all possible support in the construction of flyovers. He also directed all the concerned officials to hold a meeting every week to review the flyover projects so that no obstruction could impede the work. |
||
|
Edusat programme to cover more govt colleges
Dehradun, September 25 “The programme will not replace classrooms but supplement teaching efforts through satellite by reaching out to students in remote places where there is a shortage of teachers. Edusat is an ideal platform for expanding both formal and vocational education,” said Radha Raturi, Principal Secretary, Higher
Education. For conducting the edusat programme, the office of the nodal officer, Yatish Vashist, would be shifted to Doon University. The Department of Information Technology would procure all equipment for expanding the programme. Though the programme was launched in 2006 in the state and Rs 1.36 crore was sanctioned to ISRO for setting up SIT centres and conducting the programme for Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), it failed to take off. In 2010, the Uttarakhand Space Application Centre (USAC) was roped in to establish a hub and satellite centre at Doon University The USAC managed to set up a studio and establish SIT centres at 25 colleges. As of now, 22 of the 42 SIT centres are functioning effectively. For further expansion of the programme a provision of regular budgeting would be required. “Along with formal courses, job-oriented short term technical courses can be conducted for which a budget of Rs 2 to 3 lakh will be required every year. Besides, the technical staff that is conversant with the technical aspect of the programme too will have to be recruited through outsourcing,” said the nodal officer. He added that a separate budget should be earmarked for recurring and non-recurring expenditure, including annual maintenance. “Besides taking care of the technical and financial aspects, we will also have to plan a timetable so that experts are able to deliver lecturers round the year. Retired teachers could also be roped in for the purpose,” he said. |
||
|
Arms licences to be cancelled if details not furnished: DM
Dehradun, September 25 District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam told The Tribune that “We have started this drive on the directions of the Central government. We have asked the arms licence holders to submit the required details as soon as possible to escape cancellation of their licences,” he said. Surprisingly, only 3,000 people out of 23,000 arms licence holders in the district had furnished the required details. “We have already cancelled 100 arms licences and I am going to cancel 50 licences every day if the required details are not furnished soon,” he said. A special form has been designed for the purpose and the arms licence holders need to provide the details like name, date of birth, profession, current address, police jurisdiction, landline and mobile phone numbers, licence number etc. The police will benefit from the exercise that will enable it to easily track the owner of any firearm in case of any crime or emergency. “It will be beneficial for the police, especially in the investigation of any case, as all details regarding arms licence holders can be accessed on the click of a mouse,” SP, City, Jagdish Chandra, told The Tribune. The initiative will also ensure that all records are safe in case of a disaster or a natural calamity. As of now, the entire record pertaining to thousands of arms licences issued is manually maintained on hundreds of files. |
||
|
Punjabi varsity students visit Mussoorie for botanical study
Mussoorie, September 25 The botany professor accompanying the students said that over 40 students were here for the taxonomy study, under which they will study the description, identification, nomenclature and classification of plant specimens and document them by preparing an album for future refernce. He further said the purpose of the botanical field study tour was to help students understand the complex ecological relationships in nature. The students will work closely with their teachers and learn about the ecology of invasive species, study of herbs, plant anatomy, ethno botany, economically and medicinally important plants and conservation biology of threatened species. They also paid a visit to the company garden to study various plant species present in the area. Raman Deep, a student, said that such field studies were very important for
the students. Mussoorie DFO Dheeraj Pandey said the town was most suitable for the botany students as the forest area around the town housed a number of rare species. He also said the student would get to see a large number of lichens that were best indicators of health of forests. The diversity of the Benog Hill Sanctuary in Mussoorie was rich, as it contained higher and lower plants in abundance. However, Pandey the study of plants should be done in a scientific manner and stress should be laid on digital botanisation instead of physical specimen collection, as the uprooting of the plants could cause damage to the rare species leading. |
||
|
Massive rally by trade unions and federations
Dehradun, September 25 Heera Singh Bisht, president, INTUC, said the workers who were engaged with works which were not of seasonal nature must not be hired on contracts and hence should be regularised. He demanded amendment in the minimum wages law of 1948 and scaling it up to Rs 10,000 per month along with steady raise in PF. President of ATUC KR Kashyap demanded ownership rights for the tea-garden workers and social security, minimum wages and bonus for Asha workers and bhojan matas. General secretary, CITU, Virender Bhandari, said anganwadi employees must be declared state government employees and should be given all financial emoluments. He said: ''The condition of labour class has worsened due to chasing of blind race towards the economic liberalisation by governments which only target profit-making projects. The production has risen, so have the profits but the labour wages have shamefully decreased.'' President of Kumaon and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Purushttam Puri opposed interference by private hands in the mining work, which hitherto was handled by both the nigams on the rivers falling under revenue area. He said this policy would prove to be a severe setback to the already lean financial conditions of the nigams largely because of the onslaught of the disaster in the state. |
|
50 honoured on Pharmacist Day
Dehradun, September 25 He said the pharmacists held a significant place in society. “It is impossible to imagine quality health services without the help of pharmacists,” he said. The Director of the SGRRITS, Prof SP Thapliyal, said the day was important for the students of the pharma stream. While addressing the students, he said that it was a matter of pride that a number of distinguished pharmacists, who had made a name for themselves not only in Uttarakhand but in the entire
country, were part of the function. Prof Thapliyal honoured SK Majumdar, the first drug controller of Uttarakhand, for his significant contribution in the field
of pharmacy. The Principal of the pharma division of the SGRRITS, Dr Preeti Mishra, said it was for the first time that the Pharmacy Council of India had decided to celebrate Pharmacy Day in the country. Dr Preeti is also the representative of Uttarakhand in the Pharmacy Council of India. Uttarakhand’s first drug controller SK Majumdar, Registrar of the Uttarakhand State Pharmacy Council ML Joshi, and vice-president of the council SS Chauhan were present at the function. The Pharmacy Council of India has urged all state pharmacy councils, pharmacy institutions, organisations and professionals to celebrate Pharmacist Day on September 25 every year to promote and recognise the role of pharmacists in the improvement of the healthcare system in society. Meanwhile, the department of pharmaceutical sciences of Sardar Bhagwan Singh Post Graduate Institute started the day with recitation of the pharmacist’s oath prescribed by the PCI by all faculty members and students. A get together was organised that was addressed
by Prof Veerma Ram, head of department, pharmaceutical sciences, to share the importance of
the profession, role of pharmacist in healthcare, drug development, manufacturing and formulation, clinical trials and to understand the need to follow the ethics of pharmacy practice. |
|
Govt turns deaf ear to unemployed teachers’ demand
Dehradun, September 25 However, despite protests, the state government has yet to show any concern for their demands. Sunder Doni, president, and Vikram Singh, vice-president, BPhEd and MPhEd Unemployed Association, alleged that despite assurances by education ministers since the last BJP government, nothing had been done to absorb them in government schools and colleges. They demanded that physical education teachers be appointed in all primary schools and lecturers in intermediate colleges. |
|
Man-eating leopard caught in
Gangolihat
Pithoragarh, September 25 “The seven-year-old leopard was caged last night by forest employees in the Baligaun area of the subdivision, where it had killed two minors last week,” said AS Semia, a forest official of the Gangolihat range. Semia said a cage was installed at the place where the leopard was seen by village women several times after it killed children. The villagers had been demanding to kill the leopard, he said. “As it was too early to declare the leopard as man eater, we have decided to capture it alive,” said the forest official. Forest Department sources said the leopard threat had gripped Devtung Bhanar, Kamad, Naghar, Gartir, Talligar, Surkhal, Timta, Balatari, Khiroli Kaseri, Rakar Baligaun, Jaujauli, Malli, Basai Simalkot, Rawalgaun and Hurkyura villages of the subdivision. The villagers had given an ultimatum to the Forest Department official that they would start an agitation if the man-eater was not killed or caged. “The panic-ridden villagers, especially the women, have not been going to their fields because of the leopard scare,” said Pratap Singh Dhanik, a resident of Baligaun village. |
|
11 Joint Directors promoted
Dehradun, September 25 Those who have been promoted to the post of Additional Director are Dr AK Rastogi, Dr HC Pathak, Dr GB Bisht, Dr NS Bhaat, Dr Kaladhar Sharma, Dr SC Pant, Dr D Singh, Dr DS Gabriayl, Dr Archana Srivastav, Dr H.K Joshi and Dr Meena Punera. Earlier, the government had announced the transfer of 13 medical officers (grade-I specialist) to the post of Senior Medical Officer. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Dehradun, September 25