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Lokayukta, Right to Service Bills passed
Govt failed to implement child welfare schemes: Bhatt
Kunjwal refers 3 matters to privilege committee
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Power outage works to advantage of leopards
Carbohydrates play vital
role in human life: Experts
Villagers protest notices for recovery of relief money
DVWM not lifting garbage from some areas of Doon
Class IV staff protest enters its fourth week
Rs 56 crore Nabard loan for infra projects
SP workers protest rising crime incidents
Mussoorie MLA rushes to well of Assembly
Thukral can attend Assembly anytime, says Speaker
Anti-polythene bag drive begins today
Qureshi mourns death of Bohras’ spiritual leader
13 temples to be declared protected monuments
MDU, Rohtak, thrash Chennai’s SRM varsity
SAI to hold trials for trainees on Jan 23, 24
Mumbai, Jain varsities victorious
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Lokayukta, Right to Service Bills passed
Dehradun, January 21 In the morning when the BJP members mounted an attack on the government for annulling the Lokayukta Bill (2011) and managed to get three issues referred to the Privilege Committee of the Legislative Assembly after the intervention of Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, the task to pass the Bills without their support appeared to be a daunting task. But as things settled down and the House reconvened after lunch, the Opposition did not lose any opportunity to nail the government but amid heated discussions, six Bills were passed. However, the government did not receive any support on the passage of the Lokayukta Bill as the BJP had walked out after participating in the discussions. Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, led the BJP charge and said the Lokayukta Bill of the erstwhile BJP government was a fine piece of legislation and was aimed at curbing corruption ‘in high places’ but unfortunately it was brutally murdered,” he said. Bhatt said the government passed the new Lokayukta Bill only to get a mileage out of it. “After Parliament passed the Lokpal Bill it had left it to the states to pass their own Acts or bring changes to the prevalent Acts according to their specific needs. Hence, there was no compulsion on the states to toe the line of the Central government,” said Bhatt. On the other hand, Vijay Bahuguna, Leader of the House and Chief Minister, said the new Bill was strong and would be able to curb corruption. “I would like to allay the fears of the Opposition about the Bill. It is a strong piece of legislation and would act as a deterrent against corruption,” he added. Bahuguna claimed that Uttarakhand was the first state to pass the Lokayukta Bill, which was based on the Lokpal Bill passed by Parliament recently. |
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Govt failed to implement child welfare schemes: Bhatt
Dehradun, January 21 Bhatt raised the issue in the Assembly after two reports (annual and one dedicated to disaster and children) prepared by the State Commission on Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) were tabled in the House. He said the government had failed to use Rs 8 crore allocated by the Central government under the scheme for the welfare of children. “The state government is insensitive to the problems of the children. A portion of the money sanctioned by the Central government (around Rs 3.36 crore) could have been used for building a Bal Grah for the children affected by the last year’s natural disaster,” said Bhatt. He also lashed out at the government for its failure to present an action-taken report after the reports presented by various child welfare commissions were tabled in the House. He said, “This reveals the lack of seriousness on the part of the government in taking steps to implement the recommendations of various commissions tabled in
the House.” In the report tabled today, the State Commission on Protection of Child Rights said 16 children died and 491 went missing in the natural disaster last year. However, it also pointed out that the data collected by the police was different from the one collected by the commission. According to the police, 20 children had died and 575 had gone missing. |
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Kunjwal refers 3 matters to privilege committee
Dehradun, January 21 Former CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank criticised the Bahuguna government for not adhering to the legislative propriety. He said the government ignored the instructions of the Speaker to present a report on the steps taken by it to ameliorate the suffering of the people affected by the natural disaster that occurred in June last year. “It was an extraordinary monsoon session when the Speaker after discussions held under Rule 310 gave directions to the government so that the people battling with the effects of the natural disaster could get some relief,” said Nishank. He added four months had passed but the government had not tabled the report in the ongoing session. “Various suggestions given during the monsoon session included the removal of debris from the Kedarnath temple, providing houses to the people whose houses were damaged in flash floods so that they could be protected during harsh winter months, development of alternative routes, setting up a disaster mitigation apparatus at the district level and finding alternative sites in the plains and the hill areas to rehabilitate the affected people. But the government took the suggestions lightly and threw them in the waste paper basket. Such a display of apathy could shake the very foundation of a government. It is a case of breach of privilege,” added Nishank. He criticised the government for keeping the old Lokayukta Bill (2011) under wraps during the monsoon session in September. Nishank said the government deliberately hid the Bill. “By all accounts the government should have informed the House during the monsoon session in September about the Bill having received the President’s assent,” he said. He urged the Speaker to keep the new Bill in abeyance till the time the matter of breach of privilege was sorted out. Ajay Bhatt, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, led the charge further and said by annulling one Act and bringing another the government was only opening the door for more corruption. On the other hand, BJP legislator Surinder Jena said district-level officers were not releasing sanctioned money under the MLA Local Area Development Fund, thus affecting development works in the state. “A view has emerged that the MLAs do not spend their funds properly while it is the other way round. The district-level officials are not releasing sanctioned funds on time. This has sullied my image. I believe others too are facing a similar problem. I urge the Speaker to take up the matter as a breach of privilege,” said Jena. Talking tough
Former CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank criticised the Bahuguna government for not adhering to the legislative propriety. He said the government ignored the instructions of the Speaker to present a report on the steps taken by it to ameliorate the suffering of the people affected by the natural disaster last year |
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Agitated Mussoorie residents block traffic on Mall Road
Mussoorie, January 21 The protest caused a lot of inconvenience to commuters, who remained stuck in jams for several hours. Raising slogans against the administration, the protesters, including shopkeepers and hoteliers from Library Bazaar, Happy Valley and Spring Road, demanded immediate restoration of water and electricity supply to their area. The protesters said heavy snowfall in Mussoorie five days ago had uprooted several electricity poles, besides damaging water pipelines. They said the department concerned had done nothing so far to bring the situation back on track. Rakesh Bhadola, manager at a hotel at Library Bazaar, said they were being forced to refuse accommodation to tourists in the absence of proper services. A senior citizen, who is a resident of the Spring road, said they were living in the dark for the past five days. They could not use heaters to warm their rooms in this biting cold. Restaurant owners said they were unable to provide services to tourists as there was no water to even wash dishes. The protesters alleged the cellphones of the officials concerned were switched off and there was no one to receive their complaints. Bhagwati Saklani, a senior Congress leader, said they would lift the blockade only after senior officials hold talks with them. Mussoorie SDM Ramjee Saran, circle officer Jaya Baloni, Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall and former Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola visited the agitation venue to pacify the agitators, but to no avail. Saran also summoned the officials concerned to the protest venue to enquire about the delay in the restoration of water and water supplies to the town. SDO, Electricity Department, Sunil Gairola informed the SDM that several poles had been damaged due to heavy snowfall. He said 72 department officials were working round the clock to restore power supply. However, Jal Sansthan officials showed their helplessness saying most of the pumps used to draw water from natural sources were non-functional due to the non-availability of power. The SDM directed the officials to restore both services without any further
delay. The protesters lifted the blockade only after being assured by the officials that both services
would be restored within 24 hours. Jal Sansthan officials managed to make temporary arrangements by the evening. They sent water tankers to the affected areas providing some relief to
the residents. Meanwhile, the situation in the remote areas of Uttarkashi, Guptkashi, Yamunotri, Dhanaulti and Joshimath, which suffered immense damage during the mid-June disaster last year, is reported to be worst with no electricity, water and ration supply for the past five days. |
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Power outage works to advantage of leopards
Mussoorie, January 21 There have been reports that around two to three wild cats were roaming around Indira colony,
Bhilaru, Camels Back road area, and killing stray dogs, taking advantage of the lack of power supply in Mussoorie. The residents have attributed the sudden disappearance of stray dogs from their areas to these leopards. So far, the wild cats have devoured a stray cow from Barlowganj area along with a domestic dog in the past 15 days instilling fear among the locals. Fearing their lives, the locals believe if certain steps are not taken urgently, these leopards could target humans too. When the DFO Mussoorie AS Negi was contacted, he attributed the increased leopard activity in the
area to absence of prey from the forest area due to increased poaching activity or the migration of the
prey itself to warmer pastures forcing the carnivores to target the stray dogs for food in Mussoorie. He said several leopards active in Mussoorie could be young and were in search of new territory. Wildlife experts also believe that the only way to prevent the leopards from prowling the town was to illuminate the compounds of residential areas
with ample lighting so that the leopards are unable to move freely. DFO Mussoorie Dheeraj Pandey said the increased poaching activity could
not be ruled out so he directed his subordinates to increase patrolling in the area to avoid any
untoward incidents. Wild cats on prowl
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Carbohydrates play vital
role in human life: Experts
Dehradun, January 21 PL Soni, adviser, ACCTI, discussed the significance of carbohydrates in the development of the fundamental aspects of carbohydrates in chemistry, biology and chemical biology. He also discussed
technologies and processes related to chemistry, biotechnology, and industrial applications of carbohydrates. “Recent researches in carbohydrates have revealed a much greater role for them in the biological systems than previously thought,” he said. He stressed on
the importance of the role of carbohydrates in controlling various diseases like cancer, diabetes and parasitic infections. In the technical session on industry and carbohydrates, Dr RM Mathur from the Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Saharanpur, discussed the role of carbohydrates in improving the quality of paper. Dr Ashok Deysarkar from the USA spoke on the evolution of shale oil and gas. Dr Ashish Sen, Dr Naveen Khare, Dr Amit Bhatt, Dr VK Varshney were the prominent ACCTI members who delivered lectures. Besides lectures, 106
students from different parts of the world, including the USA, Portugal, France, Italy, the USSR, Germany, Israel, Australia, South Africa, and Spain, presented their work in the form of posters. |
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Villagers protest notices for recovery of relief money
Pithoragarh, January 21 “We have served notices on 54 residents of Sobla village and other areas who have wrongfully claimed compensation from the government by showing fake documents of damaged houses and other property,” said Pramod Kumar, SDM, Dharchula. The SDM said the recovery notices were served after the fraud committed on the government was proved in an enquiry headed by the CDO, Pithoragarh, and having the SDM, Gangolihat, as its member. “These villagers have received Rs 2 lakh each as compensation by furnishing false papers despite the fact their properties were not damaged in the natural disaster,” he said. The demonstrators said the government had earlier announced Rs 2 lakh as compensation for the construction of houses on the
land owned by villagers as well as on the government land, but the parameters were changed recently and the compensation amount was reduced to Rs 1 lakh for the construction of houses on the government land. “It is not the fault of
the villagers as the government has changed the parameters for compensation recently,” said Aan Singh Rokaya, who led the demonstrators. Rokaya said if the administration continued to send recovery notices, the disaster-hit people would leave
the rehabilitation camps at Dharchula and erect their tents at their village Sobla. “The government, which could not rehabilitate us in the last seven months, is now out to destroy our lives,” said
Rokaya. |
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DVWM not lifting garbage from some areas of Doon
Dehradun, January 21 Residents and shop owners of several areas, including Rajpur Road, Chakrata Road, GMS Road, Vasant Vihar and the Clement Town area, said the DVWM vehicles were not lifting garbage from their areas for the past several days. It may be recalled that on January 19, the DVWM had withdrawn its ultimatum to the state government of suspending its services in the city in case its demands were not met. The company was demanding the legal transfer of a land site where a processing plant is to come up. Besides, the company officials, who had signed an MoU with the state government in 2011, were also demanding an increase in tipping fees received from the Municipal Corporation, Dehradun. They had set January 18 as the deadline for withdrawing the services. However, Mayor Vinod Chamoli and MH Khan, Principal Secretary, Urban Development, at a meeting assured the company representatives of fulfilling their demands and clearance of dues, the company had decided to go ahead with the project. Rajesh Sharma, a resident of Dilaram Bazaar, said the garbage collection vehicle had not come in his lane for the past almost one week. “There is no dustbin around and we have no place to dump garbage,” he added. Seema Kukreti, a resident of Vasant Vihar, said the garbage collection truck was functioning only in some parts of the area. “People have no option but to place garbage bags on roadsides for collection. We have been asking the driver of the garbage-lifting vehicle to come near our houses too, but he has paid no heed to our requests,” she added. Ashok Kumar, Mukhya Nagar Adhikari, said he had been receiving complaints against the company. “We are adopting a wait and watch policy. The company officials have assured us of regularising their services. In case they continue to fail in providing quality services, a stringent action would be taken against them,” said Kumar. Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, Sidharth Jain, Director, DVWM, could not be contacted for his version. |
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Pantnagar varsity honoured for JRF excellence
Dehradun, January 21 Dr JP Pandey, Registrar, said the university’s constant efforts in achieving outstanding awards in various fields were appreciated and applauded by those attending the conference. “The university has been the recipient of the JRF award since 2009. Maximum numbers of Junior Research Fellows (JRFs), in the competitive examination conducted by the ICAR, were bagged by the university students throughout the country. The role of teachers, deans, non-teaching staff and student contribution to Pantnagar University has always been phenomenal,” he added. Bangalore and Maharashtra based Agricultural University bagged the second position, Sher-e-Kashmir University stood third. Dr Pandey said Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, appreciated the role of Pantnagar Agricultural University. |
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Youth festival begins at Shravan Nath college
Haridwar, January 21 In a beauty contest, Bindu Chanchal, Parul Chanchal and Amita were adjudged Miss Beautiful Dress while in the boys' category, Akash Mehta and Akash Chanchal were declared Mr Handsome. Earlier, inaugurating the fest, college Principal Navneet Kumar Ghildiyal exhorted the students to take part in co-curricular activities, as these help showcase their hidden talent. Sharing her experience with other students, Gudiya, a participant, said initially she used to hesitate over performing in front of a large gathering, but now she felt more confident. Ghildiyal said the college management was committed to providing the best facilities to the students. Dr Saraswati Pathak, Dr SK Batra, Dr Nalini Jain, Prerna Purohit, Ankit Bansal and the teaching faculty were present at the programme. Meanwhile, the college has fixed a day on which students are allowed to come in casual outfits from the next academic session. |
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Class IV staff protest enters its fourth week
Haridwar, January 21 At present, they are boycotting their duties for two-hour daily. They said if the department concerned failed to issue them a written assurance with regard to the fulfilment of their demands, they would be forced to boycott duties the entire day. General secretary of the Fourth Class State Employees' Union Dinesh Lakheda said the Directorate (Health), Uttarakhand, had recently promoted a section of the class IV employees, which they also appreciated. However, they said, state-affiliated class IV health employees should also be given their
due promotion. — TNS |
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Rs 56 crore Nabard loan for infra projects
Dehradun, January 21 According to M Ramesh, Deputy General Manager, Nabard, the loan will boost the irrigation-linked infrastructure projects in the state. The sanction comprises the construction of tubewell and mordernisation, reconstruction and renovation of 12 canal system in Dehradun, Haridwar, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar. Projects have been sanctioned under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund for 2013-2014 and have to be completed by March 2017.
— TNS |
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ONGC gets award
Dehradun, January 21 Sudhir Vasudeva, CMD of ONGC, received the award. Apart from the prize distribution ceremony, a number of activities including seminars, workshops, display of energy conservation messages through hoardings and banners, cycle rally, van publicity, quiz slogan and drawing competitions were also part of the fortnight.
— TNS |
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SP workers protest rising crime incidents
Dehradun, January 21 He said the common man was today feeling insecure due to an increase in incidents of theft, loot and other crimes. The protesters also raised the issue of delay in the distribution of caste certificates. Besides president of the Dehradun Mahanagar Samajwadi Party unit Pradeep Chowdhary, Dr HP Yadav, Rajendra, Farid, Deepak Kaushik and Sanjeev Mehta were prominent among the protesters. |
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BPEd graduates hold protest, demand jobs
Dehradun, January 21 Addressing the protesters, Sunder Dhauni, state president of the BPEd and MPEd Prashikshit Berozgar Sangathan, said they had been staging a demonstration at the Raipur bus stand for the past 130 days, but the state government had not paid any heed to their demands. The agitators are demanding the creation of permanent posts of physical training teacher in government schools, so that youths with BPEd and MPEd degrees should be appointed against them. The protesters demanded that their issue should also be taken up during the next Cabinet meeting, failing which they would intensify their agitation. Sunder Dhauni, Devendre Kauranga, Lokesh Nautiyal, Yogesh Vashisht, Satpal Singh Aswal and Mukesh Sundhiyal were prominent among the protesters today. |
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Vikram drivers hold protest outside RTO
Dehradun, January 21 Addressing the protesters, vice-president of the Uttarakhand Congress Suryakant Dhasmana assured them that their genuine concerns would be redressed. He also assured them of taking up their issues with the Chief Minister. Dhasmana claimed that no Vikram operator would be harassed under the
Congress rule. The protesters, who had gathered on a call given by the Vikram Jankalyan Sewa Samiti, submitted a memorandum to the regional transport officer. The protesters stated that the drive initiated by the RTO was illegal and was merely aimed at harassing the Vikram owners, who were the lifeline of the city from the last 33 years. “In 1998, the RTO had fixed the fare charges following which these autos were categorised on the basis of stoppages and stands allocated to them. The RTO’s recent drive will not only be a major setback to the main public transport of the city, but also pose a threat to the livelihood of more than 20,000 Vikram owners,” rued Satish Sharma, president of the association. |
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Mussoorie MLA rushes to well of Assembly
Dehradun, January 21 He that the government with failure to help the people of Mussoorie, who
were battling a shortage of power
and water. The MLA arrived during the middle of the morning session when the Opposition was targeting the government for its failure to come up with an action taken report about the steps taken by it in the aftermath of the mid-June natural disaster as directed by Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal. He rushed to the well of the House and demanded intervention by the government. "On the one hand, the government is trying to attract tourists, on the other it is unable to provide basic facilities to the people of Mussoorie. My people are facing water and electricity shortage," said Joshi. |
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Thukral can attend Assembly anytime, says Speaker
Dehradun, January 21 Answering a question after Thukral surfaced in the Assembly yesterday, Kunjwal said, “I am unaware about his arrival yesterday. It is for the police to examine if any case is pending against him. On my part, I will examine the records only after the House is over. I was informed by the media that he (Thukral) signed a register meant for the MLAs to mark attendance.” |
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Anti-polythene bag drive begins today
Dehradun, January 21 ADM Harak Singh Rawat directed the principals to ensure participation of public schools in the anti-polythene bag campaign in Dehradun beginning tomorrow. He said the district administration was targeting school students to make the anti-polythene campaign a success. He said the students associated with the National Service Scheme (NSS) and students of government schools would participate in the campaign. Rawat said the principals of public schools were expected to get garbage cleared from the localities in close proximity to their schools. |
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Qureshi mourns death of Bohras’ spiritual leader
Dehradun, January 21 The Governor also expressed shock at the death of people in a stampede, who had gathered to pay their last respects to the spiritual leader at the latter's residence in Mumbai. He wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the stampede. Meanwhile, the Governor expressed condolences to the families of the four people, who died in a road accident in the Baldiakhan area of Nainital district on Sunday. |
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13 temples to be declared protected monuments
Pithoragarh, January 21 The state Cultural Department had submitted a proposal in this regard to the state government, which had been approved,
said department secretary Beena Bhatt here today. A notification was likely to be issued in the next
two months. Bhatt said these monuments were in a dilapidated condition and required immediate
attention. — TNS |
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Sports meet for differently-abled staff
Dehradun, January 21 The second spot was claimed by AK Shukla (52.11 feet). In the shoot the goal contest, organised for the differently-abled men, Sanjay
Chandola stood first while Sudesh Kumar claimed the second position. Under the women category, Nisha Dhobhal stood first while Sunita Negi bagged the second position. In the 50 metre
race organised for blind (men), Lalit Kohli, SP Chowdhary and AK Shukla stood first, second and third respectively. |
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Dehradun rout Haridwar
Dehradun, January 21 In another match, Haridwar defeated Petroleum University 42-26 while maintaining a strong lead till the end of the game. In yet another match, IIT, Roorkee, outscored Nanital 51-28 with Mayank scoring the highest points (14). |
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MDU, Rohtak, thrash Chennai’s SRM varsity
Dehradun, January 21 After winning the toss and electing to bat first, SRM University displayed a poor batting show and the entire team bundled-up after scoring a meager 56 runs. From the bowling side, Pankaj and Tinu took 3 wickets. On other hand, the target proved to be quite less
for the MDU Rohtak and the team managed to chase down the score at the loss of just 1 wicket
and with over 20 overs remaining. |
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SAI to hold trials for trainees on Jan 23, 24
Dehradun, January 21 The trials are being held for athletics, boxing, table tennis, weightlifting, wrestling and football. The trainees would be selected by a committee on the basis of merit. |
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Mumbai, Jain varsities victorious
Dehradun, January 21 The University of Mumbai won its match against the University of Indore by 41 runs, Jain University beat Osmania University by 42 runs and
GNDU, Amritsar, defeated the University of Calcutta by 126 runs. |
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