UTTARAKHAND

The Rudrapur medical college would be constructed under the centrally funded scheme in which the Union Government would bear 90 percent of the total cost while the remainder of 10 percent would be borne by the .

In the order the Pandey said that the regulations of e procurement and procurement policy 2017 should be strictly followed in purchase of material and equipment. He also said that the internal heating system should be based on Solar Energy and use of primary steel should be made for structuring and steel works in the building construction.

The Uttarakhand government has started the process of reviving the State Pharmacy Council (SPC). The council has been in a suspended state for the last eight years. The orders to reconstitute the SPC have been given by the Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat to the officers of the department. This information was given by the minister to the office bearers of the diploma pharmacists association.

A delegation of the association met the minister at his Vidhan Sabha office on the day. The minister said that the orders to reconstitute the SPC have been given to the officers of the department. He said that the Pharmacy Practice Regulation 2015 would be strictly implemented in the State after the constitution of the council. Rawat also gave on the spot orders to release the Uttarakhand pharmacist regulations which are pending at the level of administration.

The residents ofUttarakhandhave welcomed the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative proposed in the budget. Hiranmoy Roy, professor of economics at DIT University, said that it will lay the foundation for more job creation in the state.

Hoteliers said, “Centre’s initiative to develop tourist destinations across the country will surely benefit the state as Uttarakhand is known for Char Dham Yatra and adventure tourism. We already have an airport and one more is about to come to the state. Things like air safari have great tourist attractions, and I hope the government will promote such facilities by making a video on them to get maximum benefit.” Meanwhile, Shyamal Chatterjee, an industrialist associated with CII, said that 95% of the total industries in Uttarakhand are MSMEs and the announcement of the revamped credit guarantee scheme of Rs 9,000 crore is commendable.

The Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government inUttarakhandhas tabled a Rs 5,440 crore supplementary budget in the House.Out of which, Rs 2,276 crore was under the head of revenue expenses and Rs 3,163 crore under the capital expenses.

The breakup shows that Rs 254 crore have been kept for finance, taxes, planning, secretariat and miscellaneous Services while Rs 432 crore provision has been kept for medical and family welfare and Rs 125 crore for Education, Sports, youth welfare and culture. A major chunk of Rs 388 crore has been reserved for water supply, housing and urban development and Rs 316 crore for welfare schemes.

With the focus of development in rural pockets, the has kept a provision of Rs 600 crore for rural development. Also, Rs 276 crore provision has been made for public works and Rs 102 crore for industries. In other major provisions, Rs 127 crore has been marked for revenue and general administration, Rs 56 crore for crop husbandry and research, Rs 24 crore for labour and EMPLOYMENT, Rs 92 crore for judicial administration, Rs 52 crore for food, Rs 37 crore for Horticulture development and Rs 27 crore for animal husbandry.

Close on the heels of the central government withdrawing the contentious farm laws, theUttarakhandgovernment on Tuesday announced repealing of theChar DhamDevasthanam Board Act, which had brought over 50 temples, including Char Dham shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, under the state’s control.

The act, which had led to constitution of a board, on the lines of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, headed by an Ias officer, was strongly opposed by the priests of the Char Dham shrines as they claimed it was an effort to deprive them of their centuries-old rights of administering the temples.

The fears were compounded when earlier this month, before PM Modi’s visit to Kedarnath on November 5, protesting priests had stopped former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, regarded as the architect of the act, to enter the Kedarnath temple premises.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the Health of the State has witnessed a many fold increase in recent times. The State Government is committed to improvement in the health Services. He was addressing the 13^thnational convention on medical Education at Swami Ram Himalayan University, Jollygrant.

He said that the State government has started a free health investigation scheme under which 207 pathological tests are being done free of cost.

Terming the founder of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT) Swami Ram as the great humanist, philosopher, teacher and a saint, the CM said that he did a great service to the State by setting up HIHT. He said that Swami Ram believed that the human body is a temple of god and serving fellow human beings is the biggest form of the prayer.

Taking a cue fromSlovenia, a country in central Europe known for itscave destinations,Uttarakhandis set to initiate its own cave tourismcircuit in the Gangolihat area of Pithoragarh where a Network of nineunderground caveswas discovered in September.
Scientists of Uttarakhand Space Application Centre (USAC) recently surveyed the caves situated in Mailchaura, Gupta Ganga, Sailiswar, Vrihad Tung, Mukteshwar and Daneswar areas.

The caves are tagged as part of a karst landscape, which is a landscape where of the bedrock creates Sinkholes, sinking streams, caves, springs and other such features.