The stupa is 190 ft tall and 100 sq ft wide. It is said to be the tallest stupa in Asia and has exquisite murals depicting various artwork including Buddha’s life history

Pre-signed challan books
Dehradun, February 14
The move to give pre-signed challan books to trainee traffic cops, who are managing traffic at various intersections in the city, has drawn flak with commuters accusing them of adopting pick-and-choose policy, while challaning vehicles. While pointing out that traffic cop, not less than the rank of head constable, is authorised to sign the challan, commuters argue that providing pre-signed challan book to traffic cops, who are still under training, is in the violation of norms.

 

 

Soon, rehab centres for man-eaters
SMA Kazmi

Dehradun, February 14
Amid the fear of man-eaters being on the prowl across the hill state from Pitthoragarh in the east to Vikasnagar in the west, the Uttarakhand government has proposed to set up two “rehabilitation centres", one each in Garhwal and Kumaon region, for the ‘problematic’ animals coming in direct conflict with human beings.

Raja at Malsi Park in Dehradun. A Tribune photograph

There has been a raging debate on the fate of man-eater leopards and tigers that are caught alive by forest authorities. Recently, a tiger that had killed a woman on the periphery of Corbett National Park was caught and sent to Nainital zoo. Some leopards that turned man-eaters had also been captured alive.

For the past few years, wildlife authorities were in a dilemma on the issue. While, it was not advisable to release them in the wild again, keeping these beasts in the narrow confines of a zoo was seen as brutal.

Now, two such rehabilitation centres are coming up in Haridwar and Almora. The project being financed under the state plan, will have a rehabilitation centre at Kotwali block near Chidyapur in Haridwar on the periphery of Rajaji National Park in an area of more than 25 hectares. The second centre will be set up at the Deer Park in Almora in a smaller area. The area of the Deer Park will be increased to rehabilitate these man-eaters.

The state government had released Rs 45 lakh each for these rehabilitation centres last year. This financial year, the Haridwar centre has been allocated Rs 90 lakh while Almora centre has got Rs 40 lakh. The work on the boundary wall, buildings, veterinary hospitals and staff quarters has been going on.

While the population of tigers in the wild in the country is fast dwindling, the fate of leopards, their cousins in the cat family, is even worse. The big cats, devoid of their natural prey, have become the focus of man-animal conflict in the state.

While the leopards are being killed by poachers, these cats, who are caught in a fix where they are unable to find their natural prey, have started attacking humans. The frequency of these attacks has increased manifold in the recent past.

More than 175 children and women have fallen prey to them and nearly 500 persons were injured in the past eight years as per government records.

In addition, the big cats have also eaten up more than 4,000 domestic cattle. More than 40 leopards, which were declared man-eaters, were killed by hunters requisitioned by the wildlife department in the past eight years.

Wildlife authorities feel that the killing of man-eater leopards cannot be allowed for long in the interest of the endangered species.

"We propose to have two rehabilitation centres in an area of 25 to 30 hectares where we can keep man-eater leopards and ‘neelgais’, which are creating problems for farmers in the Terai, along with other small prey," said Shrikant Chandola, Uttarakhand chief wildlife warden.

The state government will first tranquilise the animals and then transfer them to the ‘rehabilitation centres’ where they can find easy prey in their natural habitat.

These centres will be electrically fenced so that wild animals do not come in contact with humans.

Monkeys, which are also creating havoc in the human habitations in search of easy food, will also be put in these centres.

A Valentine that began on skates
On February 14, 1975, Anand B. Mishra, Sanghara Singh, Gopal Bhardwaj, Gurudarshan S. Jaiswal and Gurucharan S Hora, started a 290-km journey to Delhi on roller skates. That was the first-ever attempt in the country in the history of roller-skating
Sanjay Tamta

“Hawa ke saath-saath, ghata ke sang-sang, O sathi chal”…. Remember the love duet from the 70s hit ‘Sita Aur Geeta’ that featured Sanjeev Kumar and Hema Malini doing a ballet on roller skates on a highway? People fantasise about different ways of expressing love. But there are some who believe in turning fantasy into reality.

Sanghara Singh prays at a milestone near Meerut as (L-R) Anand Mishra, Gopal Bhardwaj and Gurucharan Singh Hora look on in February 1975

Mussoorie has always stood for gaiety and romance and during the 1970s, there used to be love ballets amidst the gramophone records of the Bee Gees and the Abba at the first and largest skating rink in Asia then. In the words of Padamshree, Ruskin Bond, “Mussoorie has been a pioneer in popularising and promoting roller-skating in India”.

On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1975, five young men from the town, namely Anand B. Mishra, Sanghara Singh, Gopal Bhardwaj, Gurudarshan S. Jaiswal and Gurucharan S. Hora, dared to head towards Delhi on roller skates. That was the first ever attempt in the country in the history of roller-skating and the challenge was 290 km. It was a cold cloudy day, but the warm enthusiasm of the participants and people of Mussoorie was overwhelming. The team was formally flagged-off by rally organiser Ashok Pal Singh and the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI) referee Beena Singh. The team skated about 10 km in rain and hail with umbrellas and reached Dehradun where the Rotary club received them.

Next day on February 15, the team was flagged- off for the journey ahead but the drenched skate boots got stiff on drying and made it really hard for the team members. But the ambition and the goal was much above anything else. The team had battery torches and the headlights of the escort car as the only help on the highway at nights. On every lap of the journey, namely Roorkee (Feb 15), Muzaffarnagar (Feb 16) and Modinagar (Feb 17), the team members were warmly received by the Rotary Club and the some enthusiasts of the respective cities skated along the team during arrival and departure.

On February 18, 1975, the D-day came for the team and they reached Delhi border at 3: 45 pm where the president of the RSFI SP Mumick greeted them with garlands and escorted them further with a Delhi traffic police convoy.

Entire traffic on the Yamuna Bridge was suspended till the team passed through the bridge where Coca Cola officials greeted them. Finally, the proud young mavericks from Mussoorie reached their final destination - Connaught Place - where the YMCA general secretary Cornelius, members of social service groups, All-India Radio and Doordarshan extended a warm welcome to the team amidst a huge crowd. Thus, the journey of endurance with a message of love concluded blissfully.

Out of the brave five, Anand Mishra and Gurucharan Singh are no more and the rest are in their 60s, but their commendable endeavour is still cherished by the people of Mussoorie.

The writer is a freelance journalist from Mussoorie

A stupa against calamities
The stupa is 190 ft tall and 100 sq ft wide. It is said to be the tallest stupa in Asia and has exquisite murals depicting various artwork including Buddha’s life history
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 14
The Great Stupa of Buddha’s Descent from Devaloka dedicated to world peace is attracting lot of domestic and foreign tourists here. A mini Tibet, the clement town area, where the stupa is situated with a sizeable Tibetan population, has gained international prominence and is attracting lot of international tourists mainly from Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Korea.

In a unique cooperation between Tibetans here and Buddhists in Taiwan, the location of the Stupa was conceptualised after Master Tiching of Pawan Dharma Foundation, Taiwan thought it is ideal to constructed it near Mindrolling Monastery to ward of earthquakes and wars. The stupa stands as a guard against natural and man-made calamities. “It was built to minimise earthquake destruction in Taiwan but also help to bring peace. It was built near the Mindroling monastery and was blessed by His Holiness Dalai Lama in 2005,” said Sakya Trinzin, head of Sakyapa order of Buddhism.

The stupa is 190 ft tall and 100 sq ft wide. It is said to be the tallest stupa in Asia and has exquisite murals depicting various artwork including Buddha’s life history and various masters of both India and Tibet. The façade of the stupa has ‘Maitreya’, the future Buddha and Buddha ‘Sakhamuni’. On the outer façade there is the relief of the regent Lord Miatreya while it carries a mirror image of Bodhgaya inside. Stupa is a Buddhist monument representing Buddha’s enlightenment. It is essentially the earliest image of Buddha, built in order to commemorate the major events of his life.

A first by traffic cops
Pre-signed challan books
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 14
The move to give pre-signed challan books to trainee traffic cops, who are managing traffic at various intersections in the city, has drawn flak with commuters accusing them of adopting pick-and-choose policy, while challaning vehicles. While pointing out that traffic cop, not less than the rank of head constable, is authorised to sign the challan, commuters argue that providing pre-signed challan book to traffic cops, who are still under training, is in the violation of norms.

“I was challaned for crossing the stop line by a under training traffic cop. What shocked me was that two other’s who crossed the stop line were not challaned,” alleged a commuter Ashish, while further accusing the traffic police of giving the pre-signed challan books to the trainee cops.

To streamline the traffic in Dehradun, the traffic police has increased the strength of the traffic cops. Earlier, there were just 80 posts of the traffic cops but now that has been increased to 200. Furthermore, recently, as many as 40 female traffic cops, who are still under training, have also been deputed at various traffic junctions of the city.

Speaking to The Tribune, several other commuters claimed that trainee cops were not experienced and hence, it was wrong on the part of the senior traffic cops to authorise them to challan vehicles. “How can the authorities give pre-signed challan books to the trainee cops. The top brass of the police administration must take a note of this wrong practice going on in the state capital,” said a commuter Rizwan.

Despite repeated attempts, SP (Traffic) NA Bharne was not available for the comments. However, when contacted circle officer (Traffic) Shahjahan Ansari said, “A head constable is able to challan just one violator but by giving the pre-signed challan book to three-four trainee traffic cops at every junction, we are able to challan more violators,” she asserted. Refuting the allegations of the pick and choose policy, she said it was practically not possible for the traffic cops to challan all violators, adding that, “Our emphasis also remains to challan more and more violators.”