Harish Rawat suffers cervical 1 fracture, stable 
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 14
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat is stable and has been put under observation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he was admitted following a cervical 1 fracture that he suffered during an emergency landing of his chopper last evening.

Need for a surgical intervention was ruled out by the AIIMS doctors after an MRI scan, the reports of which were normal. He is likely to be discharged early next week.

Rawat (67) escaped a major spine injury as the cervical 1 fracture is the closest to the skull and one among the seven cervical vertebrae. The neck injury was a result of the jerk apparently caused when his head hit the ceiling of the helicopter which ran into bad weather before it took a sudden landing at Ved Niketan Swargashram.

Rawat, who was travelling from Deharadun to Delhi and was rushed to the hospital between 7 and 7:30 in the evening after he complained of backache and pain in the neck.

“He has a fracture in cervical 1 and a cervical collar has been placed on his neck. But, there is no operative intervention. He is fine and will be discharged next week,” said Dr Amit Gupta, AIIMS spokesperson.

The Chief Minister has been kept under observation. The Chief Minister has asked the people of the state not to worry about him. He has also requested his well wishers not to come to Delhi and he will soon meet everyone in Dehradun.

Afghan cadets stand out among foreigners who passed out of IMA
Himanshu Kumar Lall
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 14
Afghanistan cadets dominated the foreign cadets (FGCs) who passed out from Indian Military Academy (IMA) at the passing out parade held here today. A total of 50 FGCs were from Afghanistan out of total 64 FGCs, who passed out from seven friendly foreign countries. Ten FGCs were from Tajikistan whereas one each FGCs were from Bhutan, Lesotho, Papua New Guinea and Ethiopia.

Speaking to The Tribune, Zabihullah Sherzoy from Afghanistan said that training roster is IMA is best among all military institutions of the world. He stressed that he will surely share his experiences and military tactics, which he has learnt during pre-commissioning training in IMA with his colleagues, once he lands in Afghanistan. Sherzoy said that cadets undergo endurance marches with combat load, including rifle, immediate action drills for complex combat situations, life-saving techniques, field craft and battle craft etc., and this helps them to lead men in adverse situations.

Sharing the same feelings, another Afghani FGC Juma Khan Hamdard said that he has learnt impeccable military tactics in IMA, which would help him to perform exceptionally well in the battlefield. He said that military and strategic training at IMA is best among all military institutions of the world.

Other Afghani FGCs Naqibullah Hossaini, Aminullah Badinzai and Adbul Satar Khakrizwal said that training would help them to perform well in counter insurgency operations in Afghanistan. They said that they will further undergo Young Officers’ course in their own countries to neutralise terrorists in counter insurgency (CI) operations in the disturbed areas.

The recipient of Silver Medal among FGCs, Junior Under Officer Jigme Dorji of Bhutan said that the training roster for FGCs is as same as Gentleman Cadets of India. 

Nishank lauds PM for telling state to speed up rehab works
Tribune News Service

BJP MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank

Dehradun, June 14
The newly elected MP from Haridwar Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for directing the Uttarakhand government to speed up reconstruction of damaged roads and rehabilitation of people affected by floods and landslide last year.

“After I raised the issue in Parliament under rule 377 pointing out the slow speed of work in the affected areas, the Prime Minister issued orders to the Uttarakhand government to speed up work by taking up construction of roads and rehabilitation of affected villagers on priority,” said Nishank while addressing a press conference.

He said since taking over as Prime Minister, Modi had announced several decisions in the interest of Himalayan states. “Now, approvals for land clearance for undertaking work in the periphery of 100 km of the international border would be cleared at the state level. Even the land clearance for 5 hectares falling in the forest area would be cleared at the state level,” said Nishank.

He said the Centre’s decision to provide MI-17 chopper for the state was laudable as it would allow the government to ferry heavy material to high-altitude areas.

Nishank castigated the Rawat government for failing to allow the purohits to open their houses located in Kedarnath. “The local purohits have rights over their houses and they should be allowed to open them, irrespective of the government’s decision not to allow any settlement over there,” he said.

Monsoon: Pithoragarh, Champawat not prepared
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, June 14
Disaster-prone districts of Pithoragarh and Champawat seem ill-prepared to tackle monsoon fury this year as protection walls along rivers Kali and Gori in Pithoragarh district and river Sharda near Tanakpur town of Champawat towns have been completed yet.

According to information received from the district administration sources from Pithoragarh and Champawat districts, control rooms have been established at every tehsil headquarters of each district to get information on rains and the effects afterwards in both the districts. “ In the case of any eventuality, ITBP, SSB and local NGOs would be pressed into service. For that purpose we have made standby multipurpose disaster vehicles in Munsiyari and Dharchula, which are the most sensitive from disaster point of view,” said R.S. Rana, district disaster management officer in Pithoragarh district.

Border Roads Orgnisation has also prepared itself for the likely blockage to its roads due to rains. “ We have deployed our equipment at key roads sensitive from landslide point of view. We could open the roads in case these get blocked due to landslides,” said a BRO officer at Dharchula.

Residents of Dram have expressed their fears caused by the coming monsoons as neither the protection walls along the rivers nor the track routes to these valleys have been repaired as yet. “ If heavy rains like that of last year occur, the temporary structure of track routes and bridges erected in Dram valley roads will be damaged, resulting in the valley being cut off from rest of the district,” said K.H. Phirmal, a Dram valley resident.

In Champawat district people residing by river Sharda in Tanakpur town are afraid of rains as the protection walls along the river have not been completed yet. “ If heavy rain comes again the remaining structure of under construction protection walls will collapse allowing the river water to enter the town,” said Devendra Deva, a journalist based in Tanakpur.

Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), which is the nodal agency of Kailash Mansarowar yatra, has kept three alternatives to continue the yatra if heavy rains damage the present route. “ We have kept three routes, from Tawaghat to Thanidhar, Chirkila Dam to Thanidhar and Tawaghat to Pangla as alternative routes for the yatra. Two of these routes are track routes while one is vehicle route,” said D.K. Sharma, Nodal Officer of the yatra at Nigam headquarters at Nainital.

Twin brothers do Rudrapur proud
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 14
Twin brothers from Uttarakhand among 636 Gentleman Cadets were the centre of attraction as they passed out of the portals of the Indian Military Academy (IMA) here today. Gentleman Cadet Karamjeet Singh passed out of the 23 Technical Entry Scheme today. His brother, a former NDA cadet Lt Kritpal Singh, passed out of the IMA in December last year.

Speaking to The Tribune, Gentleman Cadet Karamjeet Singh dedicated his success to his parents. Hailing from Bindukheda village in Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district, Karamjeet has done B.Tech. According to him, respect and pride attracted them to join the forces. “We both wanted to join the Army as our grandfather, and uncle had served the nation,” he said.

Sharing the same feelings, Lt Kritpal Singh said that defence services gave the passing-out cadets confidence, and physical and mental stamina at a young age to lead the men even under adverse circumstances.

Recalling his schooldays, Lt Kritpal Singh said his father, Karnail Singh, and mother, Baljeet Kaur, had struggled hard to give him and his elder brother the best education. He dedicated their success to their parents, and their struggle.

Task force formed to comb Kedarnath area for bodies

Dehradun, June 14
After reports of skeletons of people who died in last year’s rain disaster in Kedarnath lying in Junglechatti area of Kedar valley, Uttarakhand today constituted a task force that will immediately launch a fresh combing operation in the Kedar valley.

A direction in this regard was given by the Chief Minister Harish Rawat to the Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar today. The operation will go on for 20 days and will cover the entire region from Sonprayag to Kedarnath.

Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar said that they are implementing the Chief Minister’s directions and a high-level task force has been constituted to conduct the campaign. — TNS

  ‘Knowledge key to raising living standards’
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 14
Knowledge is the key factor in evolving and raising living standards of human beings. Without it, one’s personality can’t evolve fully. This was stated by Akhil Bharatiya Gayatri Parivar, Shantikunj ideologue Dr Pranav Pandya here today at the National Teacher Workshop organised by the Indian Culture Knowledge Cell.

In his address, Dr Pranav Pandya said the Indian culture is diversified and nurtures the inner qualities of human beings, so that humanity and culture grow with each other.

He urged educationists to imbibe in students cultural values besides book-based knowledge.

Leopard attacks woman

A leopard attacked a woman near Dwarahat town while she was collecting fodder early Saturday morning. — OC