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Disaster-hit villagers still await relief
Darma valley residents demand proper roads in a month
Rahul meets ex-servicemen
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Appointment
of GB Pant university Vice-chancellor
‘SMEs ignoring latest technologies’
Dr VB Mathur is WII Director
‘India’s ability to improve health of women doubtful’
‘Girl child still facing discrimination’
DM orders magisterial probe into lawyers-villagers clash
Rahul Gandhi’s advisory to politicians not to interfere in sports welcomed
Swami Chidanand meets Kalam in Delhi
Family Day for SIDCUL employees
Scholars Home celebrates founder’s day
3 hurt as train rams into car
Ringside
view
Catering shop gutted by fire
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Disaster-hit villagers still await relief
Mussoorie, February 23 Sarf Singh Sajwan, president of the Rajiv Sena Congress Committee, told mediapersons here that besides the community centre building at the Bel gram panchayat, the road from Chauri Gad to Dadgaon was completely destroyed in the disaster but no assistance was provided to repair it. He added the sidewalls of the Dalit Colony that had caved were yet to be repaired. He said the villagers had lost their watermills in the disaster and now banks were harassing them to pay the instalments of loans despite the announcement made by former Chief Minster Vijay Bahuguna to waive the same. Another resident Sunder Singh Chauhan from the Bel panchayat said the Panchayat Bhavan that had caved in during the 2009 disaster had not been reconstructed so far. |
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Darma valley residents demand proper roads in a month
Pithoragarh, February 23 “We have given a memorandum to District Magistrate Neeraj Khairwal to
get the track routes reconstructed before the last week of March so that the people who are residing in their winter homes in the lower valleys do not
face any problem returning home,” said Leela Bangyal, leader of the delegation from the Drama Valley which met the
District Magistrate. According to the residents, the roads were being reconstructed at a snail’s pace in the valley. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was reconstructing roads only up to Khet
village, which is a lower point of the valley. “Beyond Khet village over 60 km of road is still to be constructed,” said KS Phirmal, a
resident of Philam village from the valley. According to the SDM, the work was hindered due to shortage of funds. “The government has recently given powers to the SDM for spending Rs 1 crore on these works.
As soon as we get the order, we will start sanctioning money on priority to link the valley with the mainstream,” said Pramod Kumar,
SDM, Dharchula. The villagers have claimed that as the temperature rises, glaciers would start melting in the Darma valley. The melting glaciers would cause further problems as the makeshift bridges made at lower elevations would get washed away. “If safe track routes and roads linking these areas are not constructed in a month, the melting glaciers in the valley can cause havoc and wipe out these temporary routes and makeshift bridges, making it difficult for the villagers to return to their respective villages in the higher
reaches,” said Phirmal. |
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Rahul meets ex-servicemen
Dehradun, February 23 Rahul Gandhi ensured that he talked to ex-servicemen, who live in a large number in Uttarakhand, as part of his itinerary. He said by providing ‘one rank, one pension’ to ex-servicemen, the Congress had fulfilled a long standing demand of ex-servicemen in the country. He also honoured a war widow at the programme. Capt Balbir Singh Rawat, president of the Uttarakhand Ex-servicemen Cell, and Lt-Gen GS Negi were prominent among the ex-servicemen who expressed their views on their issues on the occasion. Major Ved Prakash, national president of the Ex-servicemen Cell of Congress, accorded the vote of thanks. About 400 to 500 ex-servicemen attended the programme. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi along with state government ministers and officials reviewed the disaster relief works here. Chief Minister Harish Rawat assured him that the state government had been working overtime to mitigate the sufferings of the disaster-affected people. Harish Rawat said the reconstruction of roads would be completed before the start of the Char Dham yatra this year. He added that early warning systems would be put in place in the entire hill areas soon. The Chief Minister said a State Disaster Relief Force would be formed on the lines of the National Disaster Relief Force
(NDRF). |
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Appointment
of GB Pant university Vice-chancellor
Dehradun, February 23 “The prestige of the university has to be restored, which is the pride of the nation. I am scrutinising the credentials of the applicants. There are a 100-odd applicants and it will take some time. I have to be fully satisfied with the selection process before giving a go-ahead to the appointment of the VC,” said Qureshi. He advocated nurturing of the culture of learning and said the universities should be able to function independently without government interference. “Bureaucrats have been making efforts to erode the dignity and powers of the office of the Vice-Chancellor. They think that he is their personal employee. He is an academician in his own right and should be accorded the decorum and dignity of the office,” said Qureshi. The Governor said the government did not maintain propriety while appointing members of the search committee on the recommendations of which the list of probable candidates for the post of VC was to be prepared. “The DG of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) should have been part of the search committee but he was removed without my knowledge. The selection process has to be transparent with no interference from the government. For that reason, I took the process of scrutinising the credentials of the candidates in my own hands,” added Qureshi. The Governor said even former Governor of Uttarakhand Margaret Alva had expressed dismay at the manner in which the search committee had been constituted and her parting comments "addressed to me were to ensure that the right candidate got the job". It may be pointed out that Pantnagar University has been without a VC for the last two and half years and the issue had rocked the House during the Assembly session. He also came out strongly in favour of conducting a CBI inquiry into the manner in which the green wealth of Dehradun, Nainital and Mussoorie was being denuded. The governor also said that from time to time he had been expressing his views on the tardy facilities prevailing at the Char Dham Yatra. “The medical posts and toilets have to be established on the Char Dham route to provide facilities to the pilgrims who undertake an arduous journey,” said the
Governor. |
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50 shiksha mitras arrested
Dehradun, February 23 “Though the Chief Minister has assured us of fulfilling our demand, we are still waiting for the government order regarding the absorption of shiksha mitras as regular state government employees,” said Lalit Diwedi, state president of the association. Meanwhile, the Shiksha Mitra Association threatened to intensify its stir if the government did not fulfil its demand
immediately. |
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‘SMEs ignoring latest technologies’
Haridwar, February 23 A large number of representatives of industries, small and medium scale enterprises attended the workshop organised
by Eazy ERP. Raj Pathak, president of APE Communication, said a special industrial package was being provided to Uttarakhand and new industrial hubs were being developed. Kunal Singhal, managing director of Eazy ERP, said in the past few years technology had taken big leaps, but the small and medium business enterprises were not following the latest technologies, thus hampering their growth. “It has been observed that SMEs have lots of apprehensions in adopting technology due to lack of awareness. The growth of an enterprise depends on technology as well. We need to bridge this gap to maximize our profits,” said Pathak. The workshop also focused on the issue of choosing the right technological solution, a single database that contains all information of all modules, including manufacturing, supply chain, management, human resources, customer relationship etc. |
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Dr VB Mathur is WII Director
Dehradun, February 23 Dr Mathur while interacting with the faculty, researchers and students said it would be his endeavour to make the WII an institution of excellence, which was liked and coveted by researchers, students
and academics. He said he aimed at making the WII an institution that was respected by national and international peers as a world-class institution not only in the field of wildlife conservation but also in natural resource conservation. To achieve this vision, his top priority would be to enhance institutional infrastructure and research environment,
he added. |
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‘India’s ability to improve health of women doubtful’
Dehradun, February 23 “Large numbers of women ignore their health and nutritional needs during pregnancy and die in childbirth.
We have still not created safe places for women and crime against them is on the rise. Our track record on gender sensitivity continues to be poor,” said Bamezai while delivering the keynote address at the national conference on Developmental Imperatives and the Role of Gender held at Doon University. Bamezai said people continue to be dismissive of women despite their qualifications
and abilities. “Women are neither given equal opportunities nor higher remunerations despite the fact that they always try to give their best,”
she added. Prof VK Jain, Vice-Chancellor of Doon University, spoke about the evolution of a women’s movement and how it had become
an important issue of discussion in the policy matters.
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‘Girl child still facing discrimination’
Haridwar, February 23 Dr Sadhna said though the government had been strictly implementing the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnosis Test Act (PC-PNDT), the results were not as per the expectation owing to a rigid mindset and the social set up, which still craves for a baby boy. “We need to generate mass awareness that girls are as good as boys. They need love, care, warmth, respect and equal opportunities as are being given to boys in our Indian society,” she said. Literati Asha Sharma said India still needs to address the gender bias issue before leaning towards the tag of a developed nation. “Girls are as successful as boys in every field today. We need to give them the same environment and affection as is being given to boys. Only when do this we can claim that we are a developed country in a real sense,” said Asha. Dr Avneet Ghilidyal, principal, Shravan Nath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College, said girl students in the college had been performing better than boys in
every field. Dr Sanjay Maheshwari said in the Indian culture we respected and treated mothers as a deity, but it was not the same for the girl child. Akash Chauhan was adjudged the best speaker of a debate organised on the occasion. Gudiya Kumari, Neelam Kumari and Akash Mehta were also appreciated by the jury
members. |
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DM orders magisterial probe into lawyers-villagers clash
Haridwar, February 23 A dispute arose on February 7 after three lawyers were hit by the car of Paltu Ram, a resident of Hetampur village. The injured lawyers lodged a police case against Paltu. They forcefully stopped Paltu on the court premises after he got bail in the case, resulting in a violent clash with villagers. Several lawyers and villagers were injured in the clash on the court premise. Meanwhile, the police registered a counter FIR against the lawyers, thus angering them. The lawyers boycotted all legal and judicial work demanding the suspension of SSP, Haridwar, Rajiv Swarup for tardy handling of the incident and registering an FIR against them. The Bar Association of Haridwar yesterday decided to call off its strike after the SSP was transferred. Krishan Kumar Mishra was ordered to conduct a magisterial probe into
the incident. Mishra said any witness to the incident, who wanted to provide information, could meet him at his office at
Roshanabad.
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BJP launches ‘one vote, one note’ campaign in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, February 23 The BJP workers with donation boxes went door-to-door on Mall road to
collect funds. The campaign received a positive response as many shopkeepers donated
money voluntarily. Roop Singh Kathait, president of the local BJP unit, said the ‘one vote, one note’ mantra of the BJP was aimed at collecting funds for the party. He added they were collecting donations between
Re 1 and Rs 1,000. Mohan Petwal, vice-president of the local BJP, said the response of the youths to the campaign indicated that they would vote for Narendra Modi for the post of Prime Minister. BJP workers Anil Godiyal, Roop Chand Sharma and Vinay Chaubey were also present on the occasion. |
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Rahul Gandhi’s advisory to politicians not to interfere in sports welcomed
Mussoorie, February 23 Sportspersons from Mussoorie commended Rahul Gandhi’s statement and said it was due to interference by politicians that sporting activities had not improved in the country in a big way. Roop Chand, an office-bearer of the Mussoorie Athletics Association, said due to political interference sportspersons had not been participating in the sporting activities actively in the state and country levels. He
added all sports associations should be run by sportspersons if the country wanted to excel in this area. Social activist and sportsperson Megh Singh Kandari said unless sportspersons were allowed to run the affairs of sports associations the standard of hockey, cricket, football etc., would not improve. Manuj Agarwal also hailed Rahul Gandhi’s statement and said it was important that politicians stay away from sports so that sportspersons could perform properly. He added when sportspersons run the affairs of various associations they give much-needed motivation to young aspirants to excel in sports. |
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Swami Chidanand meets Kalam in Delhi
Dehradun, February 23 Swami Chidanand discussed with him efforts being done by his organisation to clean and protect the Ganga and its tributaries in Uttarakhand. Swami Chidanand told the former President that," Toxic chemicals being released by industries are posing threat to the Ganga. Natural resources are also decaying. To check the damage to some extent, the Ganga Action Parivaar is running a project under which people are being encouraged to protect the Ganga by planting saplings. Farmers are being told to adopt organic farming. Swami Chidanand also informed him about the new Global Interfaith WASH Alliance (GIWA) that has been formed to bring together the power of world’s faiths to ensure that even the most marginalised people have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Abdul Kalam encouraged by Swami Chidanand’s sustainable action plans said he supported the cause and would work towards spreading the message to the masses. Swami Chidanand presented to him a sapling of Rudraksh as a symbol of the efforts to bring in new, green life, green energy and green development
to Uttarakhand. |
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Doon Kids School celebrates annual day
Dehradun, February 23 The fancy dress competition was anchored by the students of Class II and III. The students also performed group songs, skits, acts and dances, which were appreciated by
the audience. |
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Family Day for SIDCUL employees
Haridwar, February 23 KS Shyam, Director, Algarihin Industries, addressed the gathering and stressed on the need of good working environment. Chief Executive Officer D Raju urged all the industrial firms in the state to bridge a gap that exists between a worker and a higher executive. The event was coordinated by Sudhir Mehta. Prizes were also awarded for excellence in varied fields to Satish Chandra Sharma (production), Dheeraj Gusain (maintenance) and Raghav Kumar (quality). |
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Scholars Home celebrates founder’s day
Dehradun, February 23 Students participated in various events, including trophy designing, foot fantasy, mud magic, rock and balloon craft and creative creations. A dance fiesta was also organised. During the prize distribution ceremony, Abhay House was given
the Sushila Khanna Memorial Trophy and Abhay House received the bulletin board trophy.
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3 hurt as train rams into car
Dehradun, February 23 Pooja Agarwal (37), along with her son and daughter, was going towards market in her car when it collided with the Sampark Kranti Express train coming from Haldwani on an unmanned railway crossing. According to the police, though the car was totally damaged, the airbags in the car saved their lives.
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Social activists draft common manifesto for political parties
Dehradun, February 23 Social activists, environmentalists, panchayat members and members of various women groups held a meeting regarding the manifesto in Uttarkashi yesterday. They said it was aimed at sensitising political leaders to the aspirations and hopes of the masses. They would soon submit it to the parties. Statehood activists, who were part of various agitations and struggles in the past, say since Uttarakhand came into being various documents and representations had been made to the successive state governments for making a comprehensive policy to address social and environment issues vis-a-vis the development of the state. However, nothing had been done. In view of this fact, the activists have drafted the manifesto comprising the demands of the people. The activists feel that people living in the hill areas are suffering tremendously and living under a constant threat of natural disasters. Migration from the hill areas has increased manifold, clearly reflecting the "failure" of the political class. They say the objective of having a separate hill state of Uttarakhand stands defeated after 13 years of its creation. The manifesto demands that a fresh below poverty line (BPL) survey taking into consideration the ground realities of the hill areas be carried out. A water policy should be prepared that assures villagers of fresh water free of cost. Local people should have control over their water resources for their upkeep and sustainable use and local customs and tradition be followed. The manifesto also demands that the Water Supply Department should be put under the control of the Panchayat Department. For the forests of the state, the manifesto demands that each village should have its own panchayati forest and each van panchayat should be controlled and run by local villagers. The role of the Forest Department should be advisory only. The rights of local villagers in the reserve forest area should be restored to them and the Scheduled Tribes and Forest Dwellers Act 2006 be implemented in letter and in spirit in
the state. It demands that the state should adopt a uniform land policy. Strong agriculture and land policies be made to save agriculture and horticulture lands in the state. The state should have its own Panchayati Raj Act. Suresh Bhai, a social activist and one of the architects of the manifesto, said the state should have a clear disaster management policy, which it had failed to have despite disasters happening every year. "We hope that the manifesto will sensitise political parties and leaders to the aspirations and demands of the common man, who is bearing the burnt of the disasters, corruption and inflation,"
said Suresh Bhai.
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Ringside
view Congress workers were seen putting up posters and banners welcoming Congress national vice president Rahul Gandhi to Parade Ground where he addressed a rally on Sunday even moments before he arrived in Dehradun. Since early morning local Congress leaders had lined up along the route (between the Sahasthradhara helipad and Ekata Hotel) that Rahul Gandhi’s cavalcade was to take to ensure that no streetlight was without a poster or a banner displaying their own pictures along with the national leader. Interestingly, the Congress workers were seen identifying the best spots for installing their banners to attract Rahul Gandhi’s attention. They even did not spare new sleek streetlight installed by the MDDA and covered them with posters in violation of the Uttarakhand Prevention of Public Property Defacement Act, 2003. NSUI flags arose curiosity
While Congress flags were seen all over Parade Ground where Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi held a rally on Sunday, the presence of some blue flags arose curiosity. Though the blue flags belonging to the National Students of Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of the Congress, were few in number, they did look out of place in the rally. After Rahul Gandhi arrived at Parade Ground, the police did not allow Congress workers to take party flags to the rally venue forcing them to leave these near the barricades. Politicians use rally to introduce sons
Many Uttarakhand Congress politicians had put up hoardings with pictures of their sons to introduce them to the mammoth gathering. A large number of hoardings were put up at the rally venue eulogizing Rahul Gandhi for the UPA government’s recent announcements like providing 12 subsidised LPG cylinders instead of nine. Congress workers outside Parade Ground burst crackers ignoring safety and security norms. Tea vendors do brisk business
Small time tea vendors did a good business due to the rally though the district administration had given directions for the closure of shops in the periphery of Parade Ground. This forced some shopkeepers to put up makeshift kiosks to sell meals along with tea and snacks. Besides those who attended the rally, policemen also had their meals at these kiosks. Sewa Dal does water service
Congress Sewa Dal members were seen actively distributing mineral water packets to the people at the rally. They had put up four stalls to provide water to the people. A large number of people were seen entering the rally venue with food packets. Usually food packets are distributed among the people after the rally, but that was not the case this time. General secretary of the District Congress Mahesh Sachdev told The Tribune that they canvassed door to door to invite people to Rahul Gandhi’s rally to make it successful. He said they had been working round the clock for the past one week to ensure that rally was a big success. Choliya dancers from Pithoragarh enthral public
A team of Choliya dancers from Pithoragarh along with drums and other traditional music instruments entertained the audience. Many party workers even danced to the thumping of Choliya dancers. (contributed by Jotirmay Thapliyal and Gaurav Talwar) |
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Catering shop gutted by fire
Mussoorie, February 23 While the shop was totally destroyed, a motorcycle parked outside was also gutted. However, no casualty was reported in the incident. According to the police, the fire broke out due to a short circuit in the shop. Virendar Rawat, a former member of the Municipal Council and owner of the shop, said the incident came to light when an employee opened the shop early yesterday morning. When he switched on the lights a fire broke out due to a short circuit. The
fire spread in no time and damaged articles kept in the shop. Meanwhile, firefighters reached the shop and doused the fire, thus stopping it from spreading to adjacent shops.
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Haryana Eleven win cricket tourney
Dehradun, February 23 Batting first, Haryana Eleven scored 212 runs. Opener Akash scored 44 runs and in the middle orders, the powerful innings of Deepak, who scored 54 runs, gave Haryana Eleven a much-needed boost. In reply, LDA, Lucknow, had a good start with both openers Mohit Singh and Rahul Rawat scoring 21 and 35 runs, respectively. Mohammad Saif
continued his good performance and scored brilliant 49 runs. However, after he was out, the team lost the match. For Haryana Eleven, Ravi Tewatna took 5 wickets while Sooraj Kandu took 2 wickets in the innings. Mohammad Saif of LDA, Lucknow, was declared the player of the tournament while Sumit Kumar of Haryana Eleven won the best batsman award. Rao academy win cricket match by 45 runs
The Rao Cricket Academy registered a 45 runs win over Agriculture cricket team in the ongoing
62nd Dehradun District Cricket League played at OFD cricket playground here today. Batting first, Rao Cricket Academy
scored 176 runs in 30 overs. Rahul scored 51 runs and Risank scored 19 runs. In reply, the Agriculture cricket team was
bowled out after scoring 139 runs and lost the match. For the Rao Cricket Academy, Sanjay took four wickets to ensure the victory. |
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Haridwar, February 23
Haridwar, February 23
Congress workers were seen putting up posters and banners welcoming Congress national vice president Rahul Gandhi to Parade Ground where he addressed a rally on Sunday even moments before he arrived in
Dehradun. Since early morning local Congress leaders had lined up along the route (between the Sahasthradhara helipad and Ekata Hotel) that Rahul Gandhi’s cavalcade was to take to ensure that no streetlight was without a poster or a banner displaying their own pictures along with the national leader.
