Migrant labourers flee Kashmir, as women work on ‘return home’ plans

" Some of the guys, who were studying with me in a Srinagar's based school, in the valley of Kashmir, came in contact  through social media about seven or eight years ago. After which the process of telephonic conversation has been started  among all of all frequently. In fact, happy old memories of childhood spent in 'our mother-land' started coming and alive again. Subsequently,  one fine day, both my husband and I thought of building a house in Kashmir to get connected there. In this episode, one day i made aware my father with my desire of  building a house in the valley. Reacting on which my father said, 'beta', you are married, so you cannot buy land or house there in the territory of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, as of now. This was how I came to know rediculous   the provisions, rather practical implications of Section 370 and 35-A, very first time , says Supriya Mazari (Kapadnis), a migrant of the valley, Supriya with full of triumph says that "I can think of it now, as the central government has removed the restrictions in the said Section, imposed seven decades ago, which made unqualified even  to buy a house in mother land, not only me but also all other girls, having been married to "Non-Kashmiri's". I don't have words to express my happiness, but It is really like a unexpected dream, which is comming true, of all the Kashmiri migrants, when  came to know the news that the Parliyament had removed the Section 370 and 35-A. It was absolutely causes of making me and other same kind to feel either abandoned or a illegal migrant indirectly, in our own home state, just because I am married to a non-kashmiri guy, she added.By saying it Supriya went into 'flashback' of childhood spent in the heavenly city of Srinagar. She says we had a three-story ancestral house in a street at 'Nai-Sadak' very famous area, a little distance from Lal Chowk in Srinagar, where grand parents, mother, lived with a brother and a sister. My father was an administrative officer in the Central Government's institute Geographical Survey of India (GSI). I used to study at Lalded Memorial High School in the city. What were those days when I used to go out to study with my colleagues  playing and laughing. My Kashmiri friends informed that there is no longer a school to study as it has transformed into 'Lalded Cultural Center', in Srinagar city, as of now.Supriya says that I can easily remember there was nothing wrong and life was going smoothly in a very cordial atmosphere in Srinagar,  but all of a sudden it was deteriorated,  in the early 90's as the terrorists had put an end to the peaceful peace of our city.   I used to stay at home as my winter vacations were going on. I can remember that It was being announced addressing non-Muslims from the mosques to flee  in Srinagar. The people of aur Pandit community were being killed in Srinagar. Rifle-taunting terrorists used to pass through our neighborhood. Although no one was killed in my house, but people were shot and killed in the neighborhood. However,  the  terrorists also came to our house during that time.While remembering those very  horrible memories Supriya said that when the terrorists enter in our home, my grand mother used to hide we all the three brother and sisters, in store, at the top of the house as they used to ask about the children and for taking  brother for training. We used to look down through the glass of the windows, hidden in the store. I remember well that on the 26th of January, the force opened fire to drive out the terrorist. Since our house was in the street, an injured terrorist came and sat outside our house, saving his life and ran away, after that my father had cleaned the blood by throwing water, she added.On seeing this, the atmosphere in Srinagar became so scary that people started leaving home to save their lives. The purpose of the terrorists was also to spread panic by killing people to drive them away. I remember well that we brothers and sisters had slept for about a week wearing shoes only. In the meantime, Papa made a train reservation from Jammu. Our whole family arrived in Jammu by taxi. After which we left for Dehradun, where my uncle was a scientist at  Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology,  That's how my family came here to live . I was 12 to 13 years old when we have migrated in Dehradun. I got subsequent education living over here and now I am married to  Mr. Sachin Kapadnis, based in Nasik, a famous city of Maharashtra".Supriya said "Apart from it, I would like to make very clear that before the drastically increase in terrorism during those days,  atmosphere was very smooth, we used to live in very harmonous surrounding in Srinagar. I had never felt communal distinction and got affection from muslim's neighbourhoods.  Even most of the muslim localides were very protective for pandit's girls, when used to roam in the circle. As of now, I realise that few people may have been involved in violence, might be either under terrorist's  influence or may be mobilised in the name of so-called  'freedom', slogan were given. Frankly speaking I can't stake any claim of the reality of their mindset", she added.Supriya says, "my husband oftenly taunts me with fun that I should visit the real in-laws in the valley of Kashmir once. I have never ever been in Srinagar, since our family was migrated in 90's, even my perantal family too, because of the existed situation and  deadly bad memories of fear. Since I got connected with my childhood friends through social website, seven or eight years ago, I started to miss my motherland. Not only myself but Husband has charm with it, I had asked my father of having a house in the Kashmir. Then he told me that it was just not possible for me to buy a property,  loosen right after getting married to a Non Kashmiri. This is how I came to know the provisions, rather practical implications of Section 370 and 35-A, technically very first time, was really shocked.As of now, hopes are aliving again in light of removal of above-mentioned restrictions recently, causes kept us away from our mother land, in spite of born and brought up in territory. In the same way feel that we will have an autority there in the emerging new ira now.  But it is also worrisome too, a very tenced situation arrised in the valley, due to the development took place, all of a sudden very unexpectedly in the parliament, which was long awaited. We pray to the lord God to normalize the situation in the heavenly valley soon.  Let's hope that lacks of kashmiri people migrated in 90's, residing here and there all over the country, will return towards their root.

Pilgrims, locals angry with govt as ‘Chaar Dhaam’ yatra leaves them huffing-puffing

Every year scores of pilgrims flood Uttarakhand to take part in the pilgrimage circuit. The Chota Char Dham Yatra comprising Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath starts in May and goes till the month of October. Being part of an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit, every political party that has come to power in the state has promised to make it an ideal tourism and pilgrimage state, but the ground reality shows a different picture. In the current season, the state government’s preparedness has been exposed. Traffic jams stretching for hours, agitated locals and irate pilgrims protesting mismanagement by the government have become a mainstay on the way to these pilgrimage sites. More than two dozen people have died of cardiac arrest in the first month of the pilgrimage, including Shivnarayan Meena, a former minister in the Madhya Pradesh government. Before the results of Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kedarnath and stayed in a cave for a night. The attention it got was supposed to help improve the facilities for the pilgrims. The traffic congestion on the route often leads to the pilgrims being stuck for six to eight hours.To reach Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines, one has to travel through Rishikesh on the national highway passing through Devprayag, Srinagar and Rudraprayag. Manish Sharma, a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh, said he was stuck in traffic for more than eight hours along with his wife and child. Later on, he had to stay for three days owing to the unavailability of air tickets. Private helicopter operators were charging more money than specified by the state government, he alleged. Aman Kalra, a pilgrim from Gujarat, said he was stuck in traffic for 10 hours, on his way to Kedarnath. Meanwhile, there was no petrol available at filling stations and ATMs didn’t have cash.Vipin Goswami, a hotel owner in Sitapur, said many devotees return without seeing Kedarnath, because of the mismanagement and long queues to avail helicopter services. At the same time, the lives of local people had also become problematic owing to the traffic jams, he stated. Pilgrims more than expectedWhile the absence of proper traffic plans and other arrangements at the government level has aided to the chaos, the ongoing construction of the All-Weather Chardham Highway Project is also causing massive traffic pileup as work of road widening and safety retaining wall is in progress. There is also an increase in the influx of pilgrims to the hilly state. So far, approximately 18 lakh pilgrims have visited the spots, out of which over seven lakh people had visited Kedarnath by June 19.As the echo of chaos in Kedarnath Yatra became more pronounced in Delhi and after the devotees protested against the state of arrangements, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat asked for a report from the District Magistrate (DM) of Rudraprayag, in which Kedarnath falls.Mangesh Ghildiyal, Rudraprayag's DM, reached Kedarnath and took cognizance of the issues faced by the pilgrims. He also visited Gaurikund and Sonprayag, which fall on the way to Kedarnath. He said he found some problems in police arrangements, while he was visiting Gaurikund's market, and directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) to take necessary action to solve the issue. At the same time, he ordered the sector magistrates to report to him about the arrangements every day.Satpal Maharaj, the state minister for tourism, said since pilgrims are coming in larger numbers than the previous year, hence the arrangements were insufficient, especially traffic arrangements on the highway.Utpal Kumar Singh, the Chief Secretary with the state government, took notice of the issue after being hit by traffic on the Char Dham road. He convened a meeting of top police officers and secretary of the disaster management in June and reviewed the arrangements of traffic, cleanliness and availability of drinking water on the travel route.Singh said he instructed the DMs to improve traffic circulation through the help of Prantiya Rakshak Dal and Home Guards for the next two weeks. Special arrangements should be made in bottleneck points for the smooth flow of traffic, he added. Ashok Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order), said adequate arrangements were made, but the visitors came in numbers more than expected. Apart from this, many cases of cheating by helicopter companies have been reported. Many a time, pilgrims are not given a ticket even after paying a huge amount and the pilgrims' money is also not refunded.Ajay Kumar Singh, Rudraprayag's SP, admitted that while 16 such cases have been reported so far, many agents returned the money of the pilgrims. In six cases, the police have filed cases, the SP informed. He said the bank accounts, which belonged to the accused, have been frozen.

Bigg Boss approaches gun-toting BJP MLA expelled for 6 years

Uttarakhand: After Uttarakhand MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh’s political career received a blow following his expulsion from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he has reportedly been approached by controversial reality show Bigg Boss to be a contestant.Singh, also known as Champion, is an MLA from Khanpur constituency in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand. Over the years, Champion has developed a taste for controversy, and recently a video of him brandishing multiple weapons—including rifles and pistols—went viral. In the video, he was also seen insulting the state. After the video went viral, the BJP state leadership expelled him from the party for six years.While his political career is proceeding on a negative trajectory, new opportunities have opened up for this maverick figure since he was propositioned by the show hosted by Salman Khan. The new season of Bigg Boss is expected to go on-air in September.Recently, as per the report by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Haridwar's District Magistrate ordered Singh to surrender his licensed weapons to the nearest police station.This was not Singh’s first brush with controversy. Even in the past, he has been known for his infamy and notoriety, which is supposed to work for him with his "housemates". Vinay Singh Gujjar, Singh’s personal assistant, told 101Reporters that while Singh had received a call from Bigg Boss, “it is only vidhayak ji who will confirm.”Dr Devendra Bhasin, state media in-charge for BJP, said the party has nothing to say about his invitation from Bigg Boss since he is not a member of the party now.Garima Dasauni, a Congress spokesperson, said it is both sad and laughable that Pranav Singh has been chosen as a contestant of Bigg Boss. “It puts a question mark on seriousness, credibility and the mindset of the programmers, who treat such notorious people as a hero in front of the public,” she stated while adding that this gives rise to a negative trend.She asserted that his shameful acts should have been condemned by everyone, including the media. “It seems that the MLA is aware that Khanpur constituency is not going to choose him as their representative in the coming elections, thus he is looking for a second career,” she added.Tryst with controversyThe past is witness to Singh’s affair with controversy. Before this, the renegade politician had reportedly opened fire in public places. Police records are a testimony to the dozens of cases filed against him, even under the Arms Act.Another video featuring Singh went viral last year where he was seen watching a bar dancer perform. In 2003, he was named in the murder of a crocodile in Luxar, Kotwali in the district of Haridwar.In 2012, he had opened fire in a dinner arranged by a former minister at his residence in Dehradun, in which two leaders sustained injuries, while the Speaker and minister escaped.Recently, he had allegedly summoned a journalist to his room and threatened with his pistol.While Singh has come out explaining his drunken misdemeanour to the people of the state, he also blamed the media for not showing the developmental work carried out by him in his constituency. A rebel politicianAfter the formation of Uttarakhand, Singh has been elected four times in the state assembly elections. In the first general elections of the state in 2002, he was elected as an independent MLA from Luxor in Haridwar district. After that, he joined Congress and won the elections in 2007 from the same seat. He won again in 2012 on a Congress ticket from Khanpur seat.He was one of the rebels, who tried to overthrow the Congress' Harish Rawat government in 2016. He was later disqualified by the Speaker, along with the other rebels.After that, he joined the BJP and won from Khanpur in 2017. Before becoming a legislator, he was also the District Panchayat president of Haridwar.On July 13, on a Facebook post, Harish Rawat, former Chief Minister, said, "An MLA has been condemned everywhere for unrestrained delirium and unfair treatment against Uttarakhand. The entire Haridwar and Khanpur areas are also unhappy with their abusive remarks and are condemning them. My prayers to the people of Uttarakhand's siblings and, particularly, the state agitators, do not give importance to such persons and their such inconsistent comments. This also increases the promotional importance of such people and support also increases. Leave this matter at the discretion of Khanpur and Haridwar that whatever punishment they want to give him."

A village where girls on their periods are forced to stay away from school

Pithauragarh, Uttar Pradesh: In this period of 21st century, where human civilization has put it's flag in the moon and mars. At the same time there are society is still in the medieval mindset in India. Whether it is highly literate state of the country Kerla or hilly state of Uttarakhand. In spite of Supreem Court's order, female are not allowed in Sabrimala Temple, in the light of menstruation, in Kerala. In the same way, adjacent to the international Nepal boarder of Pithauragarh, people are clinging to superstition so that girls are not allowed to go to school during periods. As a result, education of girls students is being badly affected. Although the district administration is ruling out such kind of things and claiming of advance them by awareness.We are talking about the Sel village of district Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, where girls are forced to leave school, when they are in menstruation. In fact, for five to seven days every month girls were stop from going to school in villages, because there is a temple on the way to school. It is believed that in the menstruation, if the girls pass through it then the temple will be polluted. In such a situation, girls in the area facing undue loss of study, due to people's orthodox thinking.This issue came into the discussion when a social organisation named "Uttarakhand Mahila Manch" (UMM) took stock of the area, during their "Jouljibi to Pancheshwar Padyatra" in the month of previous October. Mrs Uma Bhatt, an activist and member of UMM,  disclosed the matter, that the girls studying in the Sel Government Inter college of the area were forced to leave school for 5 days every month because they were in menstruation. Because there was a temple of Chamu Deity in the way of the collage.Uma Bhatt, a retired professor of the University of Kumoun too, says it had come out in discussion with the girls in some villages , during their "Padyatra" that they don't go to the school when they are menstruating, as a temple is located there,  in the way to school. She said that girls, studying in Sel inter college,  told us that they are not allowed to attend college 5 to 7 days, while periods. It means girls are  bound to bunk their classes or school 60 to 80 days every year, professor Uma added.It is noticeable that Sel village falls in Pithauragarh Tehsil and approx 45 kilometre away from the district Head Quarter. 146 students  comprising 72 girls, of half of a dozen surrounding villages, are studying in the government intermediate college, located  in the Indo-Nepal border villages of Munakot development block area, in the district of ​​Pithoragarh. Where no other alternative for education in this remote area, as there is no availability of any private schools.  There are various 7 temples in the way of the collage, including Chamu Deity, not only Uttarakhand's residents but also Nepali people have deep religious faith in that. It is remarkable that the Kali river byfercates Uttarakhand and Nepal. People in large numbers had migrated from Nepal to Pancheshwar Velly in the district of Pithauragarh, generations ago.HariPriya, a student of Sel says that she doesn't go college, when she is  menstruating, causes loss of her study every month. She surprises that a slogan  "beti padhao beti bachao" has been given but our society is still under the influence of Orthodox thinking.Janki Saun, one another girl student expressed the same thing and regrets that menstruations, is still a curse for the girls. She accepted that doesn't go college during periods as a temple located on the way.When the issue of girl's leaving school, while they are  menstruating, a team to enquire was setup by the Chief Development Offer (CDO) of Pithauragarh . The four members team was headed by Santosh Pandey, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and CEO, BDO, DPO-ICDS, members of Nirbhaya Cell etc. were included. The team had discussion and motivated villagers to save daughters and advance them.Santosh Pandey, (SDM) of Pithauragadh, says that an enquiry was set up by the CDO of the district, after the issue raised of girl's  leaving school during periods, by a NGO.  In order to it, I had visited the concerned village  along with the members of the team. He said that allegations of not allowing girls during their periods time, were not confirmed in the meeting, held with the local  residents.  But we had organized a counciling for the purpose of awareness precautionary, SDM added. Denying of girl's leaving school, he admits that girls had raised the issue of old beliefs and  their problems of sanitary pad's shortage, directed for.C P Joshi, the acting principal in Sel inter college says, The parents told the officials that the girl students are not stopped from going to school. It may be that there has been such a tradition in the past, but at present it is no longer at all. During this time the team counseling the parents, the students said that it is a good thing that the rural conservatives are breaking the traditions, he added. Although the principal accepted indirectly by saying that a alternative path has been made now, temple doesn't falls in that, will not arise such kind of problem in future.Let us know that during the menstruation period in many places women and girls are still feeling untouchable. The Supreme Court had recently ruled against the closure of women's entry years of 10 to 50 years of women in Sabarimala temple in Kerala, a highly litrated state of India. However, despite the court decision, the regional people have not been allowed women to enter the temple freely. Even violence and conflict took place while females tried to enter in Sabrimala. But It is remarkable that things are not in the same manner openly as Kerala, but of course existing as a undeclared rules and exchanging generation to generation silently in the remote areas, in the state of Uttarakhand too.Uma Bhatt, an activist and member of UMM, claimed that she was stoped to enter in a very famous temple, during "Uttarkashi to Ararot Yatra", in 2014. While pointing out the need of awareness, she demands a fare survey of the situation of Uttarakhand too, in the light of Sabrimala Issue.Vandana Singh,  (CDO) of Pithauragarh, says that i had set up a four members enquiry team headed by SDM, when the issue came in to my noitce. The committee had visited Sel and held a meeting with girls and villagers. On behalf of the report of said committee I can say that girls are not being stopped, when they are menstruating. She said that a resolution was passed to punish themselves the offender of not allowing to school their girls during periods, by the "GramSabha" too. Vandana says that I had ordered the official of concerned department to visit every month there and report me.  But as a precautions, I am still keeping watch and reviewing the situation personally, CDO added.Garima Mahara Dasauni, a former teacher and state spokes person says, having periods is our strength not weekness. it's rather a blessing of nature and almighty to give birth and be a creator.  She said these types of deep-rooted rituals cannot be washed away, through terror of law or police, but it requires a total change of Mind set, situation of Sabrimala witness it. People should be made aware that periods are more connected to hygiene than to religion. It would take several workshops talk shows short documentaries and a direct conversation with the public to make them understand that at the time when the girls are reaching the moon these kinds of old beliefs will prove to be hurdle for the women and would demoralize them, lower their confidence level and deprive them of their fundamental right, Garima added.Vijay Vardhan Upreti, a Pithauragadh based journalist and who visited the village too, says superstition in the name of rituals has become undeclared religious rules under the pressure of orthodox religious thinking. Of course, Forcing or stopping girls to leave school, when they are in menstruation, withnes it. In fact, this is not the mere problem of the Sel village, but also in entire Pancheshwar Velly, along with other remote hilly area of the state too, situation is same, in the lack of awareness.  Although thing are not that much worst, since awareness is increasing,  being better in the urban areas, hence more need to increase the awareness, Vijay Vardhan added.Now a days, some good changes have also arrived in the society as the girls are breaking the old beliefs by flaming pyre, which was prohibited in the past. But it is regretted paradox that they are not being allowed either to go school or to enter in temples, due to menstruation.  

Headless Uttarakhand Universities Slacking Owing To Govt's Bad Boss Attitude

Dehradun, Uttarakhand: Political intercession hinders higher education in U'khand as varsity heads cite obstructions.Dehradun: All is not well with state of university education in Uttarakhand as many varsities remain headless in the state for long periods due to constant bureaucratic interference in routine work of appointed vice-chancellors. With several renowned educationists stepping down from their posts, even serving Administrative officers have had to take charge of operations, owing to political intercession that delays selections. IAS officers have been put in charge as head of universities across the state.Established by first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru as the first state agricultural university of India, the Gobin Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT) had played a vital role in the Green Revolution as well. IAS officers have had to take charge of this varsity thrice so far, including the recent appointment of Rajiv Rautela, divisional commissioner of Kumaon, as interim VC on September 26 last year. Rautela remained on the post until the selection procedure was completed and Dr Tez Pratap Singh was appointed VC by the Governor. Before Rautela, Subhash Kumar and Alok Jain had been the VC between 2012 and 2015 while both of them were chief secretaries.The last VC to complete his full tenure at GBPUAT was Dr V K Bisht, whose term was also extended by six months twice. As the government (under leadership of both, the BJP and the Congress) couldn’t finish selection procedure timely, the then Chief Secretary was given the charge. Later in March 2015, even when GBPUAT got a VC in Dr Mangala Rai, the renowned agricultural scientist from Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), he resigned soon after in August 2016, citing political and bureaucratic intervention in executing the work.Rajesh Shukla, a BJP MLA who is also the member of Board of Management at GBPUAT, says that Dr Rai’s resignation over alleged intervention was very unfortunate as he had been the DG at ICAR. Shukla guesses that one of the probable reasons for Rai to have quit so soon could be not being able to adjust to the work culture and atmosphere at GBPUAT after having served at ICAR. He, however, is hopeful that the new VC and the changed regime at the state would help the varsity gain its lost splendour. Interim heads have had to be appointed at GBPUAT seven times (including IAS officers on three occasions) between 2012 and 2018. Ministers fain unawarenessAgriculture minister of Uttarakhand, Subodh Uniyal, says he is not aware why the selection committee’s procedure was delayed until the appointment of a full-time VC. Since Dr. Tez Pratap has joined as full time Head, let's be positive now, he added.University of Kumaun’s image suffered a hit when Rakesh Bhatnagar, a renowned educationist from JNU, quit from the Vice-Chancellor’s post within six months of assuming charge in May 2013. He too cited political and bureaucratic pressure as a hindrance in executing his responsibilities. Then Divisional Commissioner of Kumaun R K Sudhanshu, was made an interim head, which was the second instance of an IAS officer stepping in as VC. S Raju, who was divisional commissioner in 2012, had earlier been made the acting VC of University of Kumaun then. Washing his hands of the lacunae of past, current state minister of Higher Education (independent charge), Dhan Singh Rawat, says he is not aware of the reasons why selection of VC’s took more than stipulated time under previous Congress governments. “But I can assure you history will not repeat further because current BJP government is focusing on providing qualitative higher education in Uttarakhand.”Rawat adds: “With this intention, we had organised for the first time a national level ‘Gyan-Kumbh’ at Patanjali University of Haridwar in the month of November. Government will accommodate suggestions put forward in that event in Uttarakhand.The situation at the Uttarakhand Technical University is no different than the GB Pant and Kumaun varsities. In 2012, then VC Dr Durg Singh Chauhan had resigned six months before the completion of his second tenure, citing excessive interference from IAS Rakesh Sharma, the then Additional Chief Secretary and departmental head of technical education in Secretariat. Chauhan was not only the founder Head of the Technical University of Uttarakhand, but also the founder VC of the Technical University of Uttar Pradesh. Citing that higher and technical education has not been the main priority of any government, Chauhan says the interference in administrative work was not just bureaucratic, but also political in nature with an agenda to undermine the autonomy of universities in decision making. Adding that nothing changed even after he apprised the then Governor of the unwarranted interference, Chauhan says, “I had no option but to quit in such a situation.”In another embarrassment for the Uttarakhand Technical University, vice-chancellor P K Garg was suspended by former governor Krishna Kant Paul over allegations of corruption in recruitment of varsity staff, and U S Rawat, who replaced Garg as VC was removed through a Nainital High Court order that questioned the procedure of his appointment.   Even in the case of Doon University, which was set up as a center of excellence by late CM Narayan Dutt Tiwari in 2005, the state of affairs has been on the wane. Seeking anonymity, a former Registrar of the University says that after the tenure of Tiwari, who was interested in making it a center of excellence, the focus and zeal to achieve has been missing. Controversies haven’t left Uttarakhand Ayurved University, where sources say, the bid is to make an IAS official as the acting head of institution. Earlier, the state government had objected to Dr Mrityunjay Mishra’s appointment as Registrar, citing his suspected involvement in a financial scam at the university. He was suspended from the university this year and was subsequently jailed after vigilance department arrested him over alleged corruption charges on December 3, 2018 in Dehradun.Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, the only Central University of Uttarakhand, located at Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal has been without permanent VC since a year, when Jawahar Lal Kaul, alleged of financial irregularities, was sacked by the President of India after recommendation of the HRD ministry in December, 2017. Although an IAS (retired), Yogendra Narain, was appointed as Chancellor of the University, the post is still helmed by an acting Head Professor Annapoorna Nautiyal.Professor Shekhar Pathak, a Padma Shri awarded educationist who is known as encyclopedia of Uttarakhand, says the decline in academic status started after a separate state was carved. While the Universities Act gives them an autonomous status, the bureaucratic intervention in administration impacts their functioning negatively. Agreeing that favouritism in university appointments exists to some extent, Pathak says ideological consideration in the selection of the head of the varsity is a serious issue as of now. “I myself took VRS  from the University of Kumaun four years prior to my retirement when I realized that nothing could be changed further in this scenario,” Pathak adds.

How Uttarakhand @ 18 doesn't have a permanent capital and the politics behind it

Dehradun, Uttarakhand: With the dream of making Garsain, the capital of a hilly state of Uttarakhand, a mass movement was on it's full climax in the year of 1994. But when this state was raised at the map of the country, Dehradun was declared temporary capital, as on 9th day of November in 2000. Activists felt cheated as the moment had gone for a hilly state, separate from the father state Uttar Pradesh (UP), centering Gairsain.  Nine times Cheif Ministers (CM) has taken oath in 18 year's journey of Uttarakhand so far but Gairsain is waiting to decide it's status and the puzzle of permanent capital is still unresolved as well.Actually,  a hilly state bIfercating UP was demanded but the area of plain and foothills of four out of 13 districts was also included, at the time of the formation of the Uttarakhand. In fact, it was the vote maths which had stopped the first Bjp's Interim government, headed by late Dr. Nityanand Swami, to be declared the state's capital. In stead of taking decision, one member's Justice Virendra Dixit commision was set up to decide the issue of permanent capital, by the Swami's Government (Govt). Later on, Narayan Dutt Tiwari's Congress led first elected Govt preferred to extend the tenure of commission, marching on the same path to keep pending the issue, afterwords again Bjp led Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri Govt  too. Aa a matter of facts, a ministerial committee was set up, under the headship of the then Minister Rama Shankar Kaushik by the Mulayam Singh Yadav's government during early 90's in the era of UP. That Committee had recommend Garsain very suitable for the capital of proposed state of Uttarakhand, in term of physibility, geologically, and distance among the cities etc, in it's reports . In spite of that the Bjp led Interim Government couldn't take decision to declare  Capital. On the contrary Justice Dixit commission's report is not in favour of Gairsan and advocates of making Dehradun permanent capital on various ground and observations, while opinion making.In such a scenario Uttarakhand has become 18 year's old means major, by age on the 9th day of November 2018,  but  without it's face, as issue of the Capital is still pending. As of now a "Transit Assembly" is being built at Bharalisain-Gairsain, after decision taken by the former Congress government, but without the confirmation of status of the capital.  Although a resolution was passed that the government will organised atleast a session of the assembly there at Gairsain Assembly every year. Replying it, the Bjp had assured to declare "Summer Capital" in it's manifesto for Assembly Polls held in 2017, but didn't disclose it's opinion or choice for "permanent capital".Before it, Dixit commission handed over it's report to the then CM BC Khanduri in August 2008. Later on, it was tabled in the assembly of Uttarakhand too. It is remarkable that in the process of openion making, conducted by the commission,  Gairsan was found unfit for the capital, in term of physibiliy, sysmically and water supply facilities etc. Dixit commission rejected the possibility at Kashipur, Ramnagar and  IDPL-Rishikesh too, suggested Dehradun suitable for the Capital only, considering various parameters. Which made a suitable base for both the national parties the Bjp and the Congress, either to keep pending this sensitive issue or to execute two capital's concept.  Gairsain a summer capital and soon or later Dehradun permanent.Jai Singh Rawat, a senior Journalist says having extended tenure 11 times and spending approx 2 crore rupees on the commision, it is very surprising that the report has not been discussed in the a Assembly yet. He said that both the Govts  led by Bjp and Congress are escaping to touch it under the pressure of Vote's Maths so far, as almost half of the Assembly constituencies are located in the plain area of the state. Since the only regional outfit Uttarakhand Kranti Dal has lost it's relevance and power in State's poltics, because of directionless leadership and Bjp-Congress, both are national lable parties,  ignoring regional issues and aspirations intentionally , in their broad perspective of political canvas, he added.It is considerable that former Congress led Vijay Bahuguna's  government had taken a milestone decision, to built a Transit Assembly at Gairsain in the cabinate meeting, held there only in 2013. Later on, replacing Bahuguna, CM Harish Rawat made a remarkable new history by organising the maiden Assembly session at Gairsain in Tents and Tamboo, ever before in India, subsequently in Polytechnic College too. But it's status was kept a big mystery, as it was never cleared, whether it will be the capital or not, during the whole tenure.As of now the construction work of the  main building of Transit Assembly is in final shape in Gairsain and well connected with roads network too. 60 baded Mla's and officer's (each) has been completed and 96 baded staff hostel will be taking final shape shortly by the end of coming March-April, says Jagdish Chand, Secretary, Assembly of Uttarakhand.Besides it, Gairsain Development Counsil was constituted for the infrastructal development, which includes the two legislators(MlA) of Karnprayag and Dwarhat along with the officers under the headship of the Speaker of Assembly of Uttarakhand. Establishment of police and the Mini Secteriat and  is also under consideration.It is remarkable that all the above decision were taken and works granted by former Harish Rawat's led Congres s Govt. Besides,Trivendra Singh Rawat led Bjp Govt  made ₹ one crore provision in it's general budget only, for the formation International Institute of Parliament Study in Gairsain, although decision was taken by the former Congress Govt too.Harish Rawat, former CM of Uttarakhand and General Secretary AICC now says, as far as the status of Gairsain is concerned I had drawn a line having organised assembly session there in tents.  Whosoever party is in the power in state, can neither erase my line nor ignore the relevance of Garsain now. He said  Congress government has built there Assembly's building and established infrastructure for capital too. Now having massive mandet, so called "double-engine" Bjp Government should take decision as per public sentiments, Harish Rawat added.It is significant that Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), a regional outfit was formed with the dream of a hilly state separate from UP.  It was the party, who declared Gairsain, the capital of proposed state even before the movement, was on it's full climax in 1994. Bjp and Congress, rulled so far in uttarakhand, never clear their stand on state's permanent capital.Time to time Padyatra, Dharna, Gherav and other kind of protests has been staged, by the various regional outfits including UKD, in favour of Gairsain, since the formation of Uttarakhand. In addition to this a "Kramik Anshan" is going on at the Parade ground in Dehradun since last September. "Pancheshwar to Uttarkashi Yatra" was organised  by "Sthayi Rajdhani Gairsan Sangharsh Samiti" recently.Charu Tiwari, convenor of the above-mentioned Yatra says as a capital Gairsan not only represents the concept of a hilly state but also the model of decentralized development, mass movement went for. It is very unfortunate that in the absence of it, the Bjp-Cong led govt's has diminished the martyr's dreams and concept of a hilly state as well. looting resources of the state, he added.It is worth telling that Dr. Harak Singh Rawat, forest and environment minister said earlier (when he was minister in former congress led govt.) that since  lot of infrastructure has been set up in the temporary capital Dehradun, so talking about the Gairsain is not  practical, in term of a capital now. In the same way, Dr. Indra Hridyesh said too that idea of capital in Gairsan is not much  pacticalical  in present scenario, when she was minister in  the former congress govt. When such paradox came up within the govt, Harish Rawat said that "na khata na bahi jo harish rawat kahe wahi sahi", being CM to isolate the criticism. In the same way rulling Bjp seems to be clearly in favour of "Summer Capital" in Gairsain, but never disclose it's opinion or choice for "permanent capital".Ajay Bhatt, the President of Bjp in Uttarakhand, says Congress's government intention of building Transit Assembly at Gairsain was to seek votes by playing immotional card only. It never wanted to resolve the issue of permanent capital of the state. He said that Bjp  had given assurance Gairsain to declare Summer Capital in it's election manifesto for Assembly Poll 2017. Trivenda Singh Rawat's government will be completing this promise in it's tenure certaily ,infrastructure is being developed for the said purpose in Gairsain too, Bhatt added.It is significant that almost half of the constituencies of 70 members Assembly are situated in the non-hilly plains area of Uttarakhand, after the delimitation, held in 2008. Haridwar, major district of the plain area is having 11 seats and Tarai Belt's district Udham singh nagar include 9 Assembly constituencies. Similarly 9 seats out of 10 seats in Dehradun and 4 seats (one seat partially in both districts) out of 6 in Nainital, falls in the plain or foothills area. In fact, this the basic Vote's Maths or hesitation of the Bjp-Congress , stopping them to resolve the sensitive issue of capital.Elected legislators of the plain's constituencies have been in favour of Dehradun  and of hilly areas used to advocate Gairsain as capital. Madan Kaushik, Mla from Haridwar and Urban Development minister put a private bill to declare "Gairsain summer capital" and Dehradun permanent capital,  in previous Assembly. Later on the then Congress's Govt fallen down by it's majority. That is to say that no party whether it is the  Bjp or the Congress doesn't want to give clear cut signal neither in favour of Dehradun nor Gairsain. But to cater the voters of plains and hill area, keeping pending and unresolved issue of the capital, suits both the national party Bjp-Cong led govt. As a result Dehradun is enjoying the status of a temporary capital, since last 18 years of the raising  of Uttarakhand.Padmashri awarded historian and Renowned activist, Professor Shekhar Pathak says capital is not mere a city, it is basically face and related to the identity of the state. Of course, Gairsain fulfills the aspirations of the hilly state. Unfortunately,  under the pressure of bureaucracy considering their facilities or other interests, irresponsible and indecisive behavior of the Bjp and Congress led governments, opted to choose Dehradun a temporary capital and kept the future of Gairsain unresolved, intentionally.  Both these national parties  has cheated the people by doing so, since the Uttarakhand came in to existance, with the aspirations of decentralized development in the hills.  Instead of sorting out the issue now they are planning two capital's concept, which is not only inpractical but also playing with the sprit of movement for separate state in 1994, dozons of activist martyred for.In such a situation of Bjp-Cong's dual policy of political division between plains and hills, million dollars question is that how long Gairsain will remain stranger in it's dream state of  Uttarakhand, keeping unsolved the issue of the capital since last 18 years of carving out.

As funds crunch ails U’khand ambulance service, hills lose lifeline

Dehradun, Uttarakhand: With government hospitals across Uttarakhand grappling with scarcity of doctors, ambulances serve as lifeline for sick and infirm in the hills by ferrying them to health centres where medical attention is available. However, the ambulance service itself is ailing due to lack of funds.Disgruntled employees of GVK, which operates ambulances in Uttarakhand, were not paid salaries for three months. While the past dues were released recently, they are yet to receive salary for October as the company awaits funds from the state government. Ambulances are waiting for repair and maintenance even as petrol pumps have stopped providing fuel on credit. The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that in the second week of October up to 80 ambulances were non-functional. Those who dialed the toll free number 108 were greeted with a ‘no service’ response.Hills bear the bruntWhile a newborn lost his life in hilly district of Bageshwar due to unavailability of an ambulance, a woman in labour in remote Pithoragarh was also unable to avail of the emergency service. It was only after such instances that Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat-led government took notice and released funds to ease the situation.State head of 108 ambulance service Manish Tinku said, “The Uttarakhand government releases funds every quarter in advance for smooth functioning of emergency services. But in the current fiscal year, from April to September, only Rs 68 lakh were released by the government. The state government was insisting that the company should first exhaust the tax deducted at source (TDS) refund amount lying with the income tax department. The TDS had been deducted on amount released by the state. This led to a deadlock, with the state refusing to release funds until GVK used up the TDS refund amount.” At present, TDS refund of Rs 3 crore is pending with the income tax department.Ambulance services in the state are run under an MoU signed by National Health Mission (NHM), state government and Hyderabad-based GVK in 2008. In the initial decade, the service ran without glitches. At present, the state government releases Rs 24 crore annually for the ambulance service and Rs 6 crore for its ‘Khushiyon ki Sawari vehicles’ which are used to drop mothers and their newborns.Empty coffersIn 2014-15, the state government, struggling with rising financial debt, asked GVK to use balance left after TDS was deducted on amount paid by the government. The TDS refund was, however, a long time coming, causing the emergency services to falter. Additional secretary (health) and MD of National Health Mission Yugal Kishore Pant said that the state has released Rs 3.73 crore which has provided a boost to ambulance services. Pant added, “The government has been releasing funds as per the agreement but GVK needs to get refund on the TDS deducted on time to ensure smooth functioning.”According to sources government will release funds monthly basis further, instead of quarterly signed in MoU earlier.Notably, 108 services started in Uttarakhand on May 15, 2008 with 10 vehicles. Today, 139 ambulances are running on state roads. According to WHO guidelines, ambulance vans are to be replaced every three years or after clocking 3 lakh kilometres. However, the state government has not procured a single new ambulance between 2011 and 2017. As a result, most of the ambulances have run for over 5 lakh kilometres on average and many are in dire need of repair. Instances of ambulances breaking down while ferrying patients to hospitals were reported. This prompted the previous Congress government to set in motion the process of buying more ambulances following which the current government purchased 61 new ambulances in April this year.Government apathy?But in a shocking example of government apathy, the ambulances were kept stationed at the health directorate for over 6 months instead of being included in the fleet. Pant said that the ambulances were bought but had not been fitted with medical equipment. “The vehicles have been sent to Delhi. The state has now got 43 new ambulances and all old ones will be replaced in a phased manner,” Pant said.Former health minister from the Congress Surendra Singh Negi said that the chief minister holds the health portfolio but still health services in the state are suffering. “The 108 services were running without issues during Congress tenure. It is shocking that the chief minister doesn’t think it necessary to release funds for life-saving medical services,” he said.According to estimates, 108 facility in the state has helped 13 lakh patients since it was pressed in service. This includes 5,07,000 pregnant women and 1,30,000 road accident victims. Over 10,500 children were born in an ambulance in this period.Meanwhile, Director General (health) Dr TC Pant has raised questions on 108 administration, claiming that the management was using funds released by the government to conduct workshops, meetings and to fund air travel instead of paying salaries of employees on priority. “I have written to chief medical officers (CMOs) of all districts to ensure that salaries are paid to employees and pending payments of petrol pumps made.”

Doctors refuse to join postings in the hill

States across India face scarcity of doctors, but the problem is severely compounded in Uttarakhand where efforts by successive governments to lure medical practitioners to the hills have yielded no results. Only 1,545 doctors have been appointed against the 2,716 sanctioned posts of doctors in the Uttarakhand health and medical department. This means 1,171 posts of doctors are lying vacant across government hospitals in the state, leaving the burden of healthcare in the hands of private clinics and nursing homes. A glaring example of the threadbare facilities in the hills is that many hospitals are running without doctors while some have pharmacists doubling up as medical practitioners. The situation persists even though the charge of department of health and family welfare lies with CM Trivendra Singh Rawat himself. In the past, doctors transferred to the hills have refused to join postings, forcing the state government to take severe measures such as ‘naming and shaming’ these doctors in newspaper advertisements. TC Pant, Director General, department of health and family welfare, admitted that the situation is grim despite several efforts by the authorities. “Forty-six doctors who have not joined postings were removed recently while 66 have been sent notices to join immediately,” he said. Pant also said that the government was filling up vacant posts by appointing retired doctors. “We held walk-in interviews and appointed 156 retired doctors in government hospitals. In the recent past, students who completed MBBS in state medical colleges with subsidized fees have been made to sign bonds to mandatorily serve in hilly districts. Around 412 such graduates are now posted as doctors.” Many of them, however, may be posted only on ‘paper’. Reports suggest that at least 172 of the 412 doctors serving their bonds in the hills have left to complete postgraduate studies. It is no surprise that at least two-thirds of vacant posts of doctors are in hilly districts. Notably, 10 of the 13 districts in Uttarakhand lie in the hills. It is common to hear cases of women giving birth on roads for lack of ambulance in Pithoragarh or patients being carried on makeshift stretchers on foot for several kilometres due to absence of doctors in nearest health centres. And just when one begins to think that the situation in the hills is worrisome, the government hospitals in the plain districts fare no better. The biggest government hospital in the Garhwal region, Dehradun’s Government Doon Medical College Hospital (GDMCH), often finds itself in controversy over lack of services. In September, a 27-year-old woman, who had to wait for almost a week to get a bed in the hospital died soon after giving birth on the floor. The newborn also did not survive.दून अस्पताल सिर्फ गढ़वाल ही नहीं उत्तराखंड का सबसे बड़ा सरकारी अस्पताल है, इसलिए ऊपर वाले पैरा में आप चाहे तो सही कर सकते हैंIn another shocking case in August, some of the 24 people injured in a chlorine gas leak at Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan in Dehradun could not be admitted to GDMCH due to lack of oxygen supply. Former health and family welfare minister during the Congress regime, Surendra Singh Negi, said that despite holding the crucial portfolio of health, the chief minister had failed to improve healthcare facilities in the state. “At least there were doctors in hospitals during the Congress government in the state. The situation has worsened now. Instead of doing groundwork, the government is resorting to gimmicks like asking the Army and paramilitary to provide healthcare services.”Chief minister Rawat said that the state has grappled with dearth of doctors ever since it was carved out of UP 18 years ago in 2000. “After coming to power, we have transferred doctors from plain areas to the hills in large numbers. Our government brought out the transfer Act to stop government workers from taking transfers at will,” he said. The Transfer Act 2017, unique to the hill state, classifies postings into two areas: sugam (accessible) and durgam (remote). The Act allows for mandatory transfer of those posted in ‘sugam’ areas for more than four years to ‘durgam’ areas. In another attempt to improve health services in the state, the government tried to rope in the Army by proposing to hand over the charge of the Government Medical College, Srinagar to it last year. Army chief General Bipin Rawat had visited the facility but with Centre showing no interest in the project, it was pushed to the backburner. At present, army runs nine hospitals and paramilitary has around 50 hospitals in the state. The proposal was revived recently after Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni said that he spoke to Union home minister Rajnath Singh and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman about the condition of healthcare in the hills. “I implored them to allow doctors with Army and paramilitary to treat civilians. They have agreed to it,” Baluni said.(Reporter comment/additional)इस स्टोरी में कुछ और सूचनाओं के साथ आगे एक वाइंड अप पैरा जोड़ दीजियेIt is noticeable that government of uttarakhand has started to run it's hospitals, in public private partnership mode, in the light of shortage of doctors. In order to it, very first CSC at Doiwala (cm Trivendra's constituency) of district Dehradun was handed over to Himalayan Hospital Trust Jolly grant. In the same way two another CSC located at Devprayag, Beleshwar and the district hospital of Tehri are under process, as MOU had been signed of giving in PPP mode to the same. Government is stacking claim to improve health facilities in above-mentioned hospitals through PPP sytem. Therefore no need to say that government of uttarakhand is not capable to provide doctors and proper health facilities in hospital by it's own. Resulting the burden of healthcare still remains in the hands of private clinics and nursing homes at higher cost.Links: (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/despite-481-new-doctors-uttarakhand-has-only-1-cardiologist/articleshow/63244687.cms) (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/docs-on-hill-postings-missing-uttarakhand-begins-to-name-shame-them/articleshow/56126341.cms) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/with-no-roads-woman-in-labour-carried-25-km-to-uttarakhand-hospital/articleshow/65192240.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/denied-ambulance-two-women-give-birth-on-road-in-champawat-in-48-hrs/articleshow/63161094.cms https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/state-editions/newborn-and-mother-die-at-doon-female-hospital.html https://www.jagran.com/uttarakhand/dehradun-city-ten-unconscious-due-to-chlorine-gas-leak-at-jal-sansthan-16560650.html https://www.hindustantimes.com/dehradun/govt-army-in-talks-over-srinagar-medical-college/story-PMLK6YnPzl0J16q8PLJ2DN.html