The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Ramdev: No differences with Shankaracharya Sees a plot to divide saints Tribune News Service Haridwar, August 13 The saint community here has been shocked by an interview published in a Hindi daily that quoted Baba Ramdev disagreeing on Adi Shankaracharya’s preachings. Meanwhile, Ramdev apologised for the statements which he termed as manipulated and denied having made the comments. Nai Duniya, a Hindi daily, had on August 11 quoted Ramdev during a press conference that Baba Ramdev did not agree with the principles of Vedanta promulgated by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. Today, Ramdev said that he respected the jagadguru and his principles and he has not made any negative comments about him or his principles. Swami Ramdev apprised the saint community of his stand and then held a press conference. He expressed his viewpoint in front of Jagatguru Ashram’s Mahamandeleshwar Raja Rajeshwaram and other ‘akhada’ representatives. “I have not made any comments about Adi Shakaracharya. This is an attempt to misguide the saint community and to break it up,” wrote Ramdev in a signed letter. Meanwhile, sharp reactions have been coming in from various quarters over Ramdev’s alleged comments. Former Ganga Sabha president and Jagatguru Adi Shankaracharya Smarak Samiti general secretary Ashok Tripathi has lashed out at Swami Ramdev. He termed it a disrespect to the person who set up four ‘maths’ in the country by Ramdev who is trying to form a corporate conglomerate for money. Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kalyanand has asked for a straightforward apology. Present at the conference were Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad general secretary Mahant Hari Giri, representatives of Nirmal Akhada, Niranjani Akhada, Jona Akhada, Bada Akhada, Naya Akhanda, Awahan Akhada and several other saints. Later, Ramdev went to Shankaracharya Chowk where he paid tributes to Adi Shankaracharya.
	Affiliation Cricket bodies just can’t agree Vishal Thakur Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 In the run up to the meeting with Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) scheduled on August 29, efforts by different cricket associations of Uttarakhand to come up with a united association of the state failed to bear fruits-thanks to deep rooted differences amongst them. The board has called all the four cricket associations of the state for a meeting with the purpose of confirming each one’s credentials as the genuine association to grant affiliation. In a bid to attain affiliation, the United Cricket Association led by former test cricketer Cheten Chauhan is trying to bring all the associations on a common platform but the move is being strongly resisted by the three other rivals. Secretary of Cricket Association of Uttaranchal, PC Verma said, “I did meet Chetan last Wednesday, but the meeting was not regarding the affiliation. It was a personal visit. “Our association has a strong base and has been working at the ground level for the promotion of the cricket for the last three-and-a-half decade. “Therefore, we do not need to lobby with any other associations in this regard, our claim is stronger than others.” Secretary of Uttaranchal Cricket Association, Chandrakant Arya, was highly critical off Cheten Chauhan’s efforts, “We do not need to associate with any other association for affiliation purpose. People like ChetanChauhan have no right to be in the race for affiliation as he does not belong to the state and has done nothing for the promotion of cricket in the state.” On the other hand, secretary of United Cricket Association, Rajender Pal, was highly optimistic about the meeting. “Yes we did call a meeting of all associations yesterday and had asked them to come on a common platform to attain BCCI affiliation, for which a second meeting will be called again to express their point of view.” However, he did not reveal the proceeding of the meeting, but it is clear from the reactions of other association, that second meeting may not be called up.
	No headway in double murder case Akash Ghai Tribune News Service Roorkee, August 13 Even after five days, the police is still grappling in the dark about the identification of a woman and a child who were found murdered on August 8 near Peeran Kaliyar shrine, around 8 km from here. The bodies of a woman (40 years) and a child (12) were found near ‘badi dargah’ on Friday. They had been brutally murdered with their throats slit by unidentified criminals. The bodies were lying in the shrubs separated by a distance of 100m. ASP Arun Mohan Joshi said that teams have been dispatched to neighbouring states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, to get clues about the victims. “Most pilgrims come from these two states so we started our investigations by sending teams to these two states,” said Joshi. Pamphlets with the pictures of the victims and their identification marks are being distributed all around including the police stations of the neighbouring states to get lead in the case, added the ASP. The police has also collected samples for DNA testing. However, the high expenditure involved is hampering their going ahead. The police is yet to ascertain the relationship between the victims. “It seems that the victims came here for pilgrimage,” said Joshi. The police has found a knife, a rope and some pieces of broken bangles from the spot. “The motive behind the murder could be established only after the identification of the victims,” said the police while adding that the crime could be handiwork of some relatives. “We are working on various theories in the case. A special team has been constituted to crack it,” said ASP Joshi. The shrine and its nearby area is equipped with CCTV cameras to keep vigil on all activities taking place round the clock. “All video clippings will be checked to get any lead in the case,” the police added.
	Himanshu wins Hindi debate Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 A district-level Hindi debate competition was held at DAV inter-college, here today. As many as 12 schools participated in the event. “Shiksha Ka Nijikaran” was the topic for the debate and the judges were Dr Anil Pal, lecturer, Dr Rajesh Dubey, lecturer, and Atul Sharma, a veteran writer, while Lt Col OP Kaushik (retd) was the chief guest. Himanshu Pokriyal of Army School bagged the first position; Shivani Farasi of GIC Gujrada stood second while Gaurav Bisht of DAV inter-college won the third prize. Anuja Rahinwal of St. Joseph’s Academy was given the consolation prize. Principal of the college Dr AK Srivastava congratulated the winners. Meanwhile, the 24th Maharani Gambhir Kumari Memorial inter-school debate - was held at the Cambrian Hall School today. Participants spoke on the topic “Grading system is superior to strict marking system”. The chief guest for the occasion were R.R. Agarwal, District Judge (Retd) along with Subhash Pant, writer and Jitendra Sharma, senior teacher at Wimebergalen School being the judges for the day Cambrian hall bagged the first position, St. Joseph Academy the second while RIMC stood third. However, St. Joseph Academy also organized JL D’Souza memorial inter-school debate competition today. A total of 11 schools participated in the debate. Students spoke with fervor on the topic ‘Academic qualifications alone ensure success in life’. The chief guest for the occasion was Anil K Raturi, inspector general of police intelligence and security Dehradun, along with Arijit Banerjee, a dynamic personality from corporate world, Bizeth Banerjee, lecturer of communications at Sai Paramedical college Dehradun and Ruth Isaac another known name in the corporate sector being the judges for the competition. The audiences were enthralled by the verve, wit and vivacity of the participants. The first runner-up speaker was Jatin S. Soni from Welham Boy’s school. While the best speakers for the day were Abhineet Kanodia from Welham Boy’s and Uday Shriram of Doon School. However, the best rebuttal prize was awarded to Chaitali Sinha of St Joseph Academy and the overall trophy for the JL D’Souza memorial inter-school debate was won by Welham Boy’s School. Primary teachers get vital tips A group of teachers has been imparting English language skills to 45 teachers of the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) Primary Schools since the last two weeks. The team of voluntary teachers - six from Ireland and two from Kolkata - headed by Rutger Kortenhorst, came up with motivational training routines, exercises, games, role plays, poems, songs etc to make learning more interesting. Various demonstration techniques, visual aids, dance and drama techniques were also used for training. “The training proved beneficial for our primary school teachers. It helped them hone their English reading and speaking skills,” said Avdhash Kaushal, chairperson, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra. On the concluding day of the training tomorrow, the group would hold a cultural programme.
	Schools celebrate Janamashtmi Divya Semwal Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 Many schools in the city celebrated Janamashtmi today. Poly Kids School that has branches in Dalanwala, Sahastradhara Road and Vasant Vihar showcased movie ‘Krishna’ on the big screen. From the main entrance gate to the classrooms, each and every corner was decorated with pictures of Krishna and Radha. The children were told the story of Krishna’s childhood and his role in the Mahabharata. Many children were dressed up as Radha and Krishna and danced along with their teachers. An episode from the life of Krishna was enacted. The students were told about the concepts behind ‘matki’ and ‘makhan’ and a ‘matki’ that was filled with sweets was broken by the children. The function concluded with a speech by Poly Kids School director Capt Mahendru in which he highlighted the importance of such celebrations. Present on the occasion were coordinator and head mistresses Nidhi and teachers. Meanwhile, beautiful handmade statues of Krishna and Radha crafted by natives of Rajasthan and being sold along the roadside in the city are attracting the people’s attention. Statues of Lord Krishna ranging from his ‘makhan chor’ days to his imparting of wisdom to Arjuna in the Gita are on offer. “To create statues, it takes almost seven to eight hours. Along with statues of Krishna and Radha, we have statues of Lord Ganesha. We are expecting a heavy rush on Janamashtmi,” said Kuppa, an artiste. The statues are priced from Rs 100 to Rs 200 and with proper care can last a long time. Striking blue, red and yellow colours have been used by the artistes from Rajasthan.
	Vahini cadres submit memo to Guv Seek identity cards, pension facility Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 Seeking better treatment for the Uttarakhand statehood agitationists, Uttarakhand Kaushaliya Sangarsh Vahini members today submitted a memorandum to the state Governor Margaret Alva, on her visit to statehood agitationists’ martyr memorial at Dehradun district headquarters. While welcoming the new Governor Margaret Alva to Uttarakhand, Vahini members, yet again put forward their demands prominently seeking reservation to an extent of 10 per cent within government services. Convener of the Vahini Sushila Dhyani said the Vahini will continue with its protest till their genuine concerns were accepted by the government. Dhyani also informed the Governor that the Vahini members have been staging dharna at the district headquarters for past 1,000 days. Multi-purpose identity cards for the agiationists and pension facility were other prominent demands raised by the members. Meanwhile, Margaret Alva also offered floral tributes to the statehood martyrs here at Martyrs’ Memorial in Dehradun District Headquarters. She also visited the exhibition related to statehood agitation put up at the nearby auditorium by the administration. Dehradun district magistrate Senthil Pandian, SSP Abhinav Kumar and other officials of the district were present on the occasion.
	Seventh consecutive win for Uttarakhand Police Veer Singh scores second hat-trick Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 Uttarakhand Police won its seventh consecutive match at the District Football League. It was yet again a big win for the Uttarakhand Police as it beat Bajrang Club by a huge margin of 6-0, with Veer Singh scoring its second hat-trick of the tournament. Bajrang Club was in no match for Uttarakhand Police team, as its defense line could hardly manage to stop police team for a long. Police team opened its account in the 20th minute of the match through Himanshu, who dodged two players before taking a powerful shot at goal that sailed straight into the net. After opening its account in the 20th minute there was no looking back for Police team as it kept on pumping goals at a regular interval. The second goal for Uttarakhand Police team came from Veer Singh in the 38th minute. In the 50th minute Deepak scored the third goal followed by Veer Singh in the 53rd minute. Bajrang Club failed to put a stop on the scoring in the last minutes as Deepak scored again in the 60th minute of the match followed by Veer Singh who completed his hat-trick of the tournament in the 65th minute of the match to make it 6-0 for Police team in the end. In the second match Doon Star beat Sarvodiya 2-0. Praveen scored the first goal in the 30th minute of the match to make it 1-0 for Doon Star team. Rajesh again from Doon Star scored the second goal for the Doon Star team in the 50th minute of the match to make it 2-0 for his team.
	Independence Day honours for 13 policemen Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 As many as three policemen of the Uttarakhand police will be bestowed the Distinguished Service Medal, whereas 10 will be presented Long and Meritorious Service Medal during the Independence Day function on August 15. Giving this information, police officials said that Uttarakhand DGP Subhash Joshi will present the awards which include cash reward and a citation. The policemen who will be bestowed with Distinguished Service Medal include Umesh Chander (Assistant Radio Official), Communication Headquarters, Prakash Chand Devali (Reserve Inspector, Pauri) and Nathi Lal Uniyal (Deputy Inspector, Dehradun). Those who will be awarded Long and Meritorious Service Medal include KS Rawat, Kamal Singh Pawar, Brijmohan Upreti, Mukesh Tyagi, Kapur Chander, Vikram Singh, Vijay Ballab Thapliyal, Aanand Lal, Danil Bhandari and Ashok Kumar. Meanwhile, DGP Subhash Joshi convened a meeting of the top brass of the police administration of the state through video conferencing at the police headquarters here. Interacting with his men, Joshi reviewed the law and order situation in various parts of the state. He said that during the campaign launched by the Uttarakhand police to nab criminals, as many as 484 criminals were arrested. The DGP issued directions to the police officials to ensure strict security measures ahead of the Independence Day celebrations. ADGP (administration) JS Pandey, ADGP (law and order) Satyavrat, IG Garhwal MA Ganapathy, IG (Intelligence) Anil K Raturi and IG (PAC) Ajay Kumar were present at the conference.
	21 industries sign eco-code Raju William Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 As many as 21 Uttarakhand-based industries today signed the CII Code for Ecologically Sustainable Business Growth taking the total number of signatories in the country to 348. Marico Limited, Titan Industries, Carborundom Universal Limited and NOV Sara India Limited were the prominent signatories from the state. The development is part of the CII initiative - Mission on Sustainable Growth (MSG) launched at the CEOs’ Meet organised here. Similar events has already been organised in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Madurai, Coimbatore, Goa and Bhubneswar. The objective is to promote conservation of natural resources in the Indian industry without compromising on high and accelerated growth. The CII code, which is the first step towards this goal, was described to more than 30 CEOs. Former chairman, CII Uttarakhand State Council, and managing director, NOV Sara India Limited, VK Dhawan explained that the code aimed at involving top managements of member companies and seeking their voluntary commitments. It included intensity reduction of energy and greenhouse gas emissions, decrease in water consumption, reduction in waste generation, utilisation of renewable energy, increased water harvesting, green procurement, life cycle analysis, clean technologies, product stewardship and reduction in consumption of natural resources like paper and wood.
	Vaibhav is u-10 champ Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 Vaibhav Chauhan of Brightland School won the 9th Dehradun District Badminton Championship in the u-10 category. In the finals he defeated Tushar Babbar by 21-4, 21-14. Results: In the quarter final of u-16 girls: Ayushi beat Anmol 24-26, 21-13, 21-14. Sara Bora beat Divya 21-14, 21-6. In u-19 girls single: Ira Singh beat Katayani 21-5, 21-5. Arshya beat Tushika 21-7, 21-11. Vanshika Samina beat 21-6, 21-3. In u-19 boys (single): Vibhor beat Sansar 25-23, 21-16. Ayan beat Rohan 21-13, 21-18. Vyom beat Visharad 21-13, 21-17. Dhruv beat Tauseef 21-14, 21-11. In the semifinal of u-10 boys (doubles): Kanishk and Nilesh beat Prasharm and San 19-21, 21-14, 21-11. In u-16 girls (double): Babula and Anushtha beat Shweta and Priya 21-7, 21-7. Shivani and Pallavi beat Himnshu and Deepak 21-14, 21-16. Arshiya and Partner beat Srella beat Brinds 21-5, 21-17. In u-16 boys (doubles): Vaibhav and Udit beat Anuj beat Shivam 21-5, 21-7. Basu beat Tauseef beat Shivam beat Nishan 19-21, 21-14, 21-21-11. In u-19 boys (doubles): Amarpal and Jitpal beat Vishal and Aman 21-14, 21-18.
	Bypoll Tremors 3 Cong leaders suspended Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 The Uttarakhand Congress today suspended three office-bearers from the party’s primary membership for six years. The action against the three leaders was initiated on account of their indulgence in anti-party activities. Congress leader Shankar Chand Ramola said that they had got information that state organising secretary Raghunath Singh Negi, general secretary of District Congress Committee Ashok Pawar and secretary DCC Bhaskar Chugh were making efforts to adversely affect the prospects of the Congress candidate in the forthcoming Vikasnagar bypoll. The Vikasnagar constituency fell vacant after the then BJP MLA Munna Singh Chauhan resigned in April this year. “These leaders were also in touch with persons from the BJP. “In wake of this, action has been initiated against these leaders by the party high command,” he said while adding that the Congress will not tolerate any indiscipline. He added that the party’s nominee for the Vikasnagar bypoll would be announced in a day or two.
	Nepal’s Gurung IMA product Tribune News Service Dehradun, August 13 Nepal figures in the list of foreign countries to have got their army chief from the IMA, Dehradun, with the appointment of Lt Gen Chhatraman Singh Gurung as its Chief of Army Staff. Smith Dun and Mohammad Musa, who underwent training at the IMA in 1932 as part of the first course of 40 Gentlemen Cadets known as the Pioneers, went on to become the army chiefs of Burma (now Myanmar) and Pakistan, respectively. “Fiftyseven-year-old Gurung joined the 52nd regular course on January 17, 1972. He passed out on December 23, 1973. He was from the Keren Company and Delta Battalion,” said an IMA spokesperson.