Dehradun, September 18
Instead of maintaining law and order in the state, the Uttarakhand police these days seems to be at the receiving end of public and politicians’ ire.

Getting publicly beaten up by politicians has become commonplace badly eroding the reputation of the police force that seems incompetent to book the lawbreakers and easily buckles under political pressure.

Yesterday, the in charge of a police post was humiliated and beaten up in the open by the BJP leaders over a trivial issue near Shantikunj.

Agitated leaders brazenly snatched the stars of the Khadkhadi police post in charge Pankaj Pokhriyal and chased him down the road much to the horror of commuters who were left motionless. They manhandled the city circle officer Pankaj Bhatt.

Colleagues of the policeman watched helplessly as the politicians went berserk hitting and kicking the hapless policeman.

Haridwar SSP Sanjay Gunjyal said that BJP leader Raju Bhandari had said in his statement that he was beaten up by the police post in charge as a result, they retaliated. The SSP added that he had asked SP city to enquire into the case and submit a report.

Small-time politicians of the ruling party had their way with the police only because they had connections with the senior leaders.

In the past few years, whenever a policeman tried booking politicians for breaking the law, he had to face unpleasant consequences and was sometimes demoted.

This has certainly damaged the morale of the police force, sending aloud a wrong message to society that politicians are bigger than the law even their acts of dereliction and deviant behaviour will not get punished.

A senior superintendent of police (SSP) admitting that in cases where no action is taken against law-breaking politicians, it does affect the morale of the police.

Preferring anonymity, he said, “As policemen, we are aware that in the line of duty, we may be at the receiving end. Sometimes, numbers are more and we may even get shot. But showing disrespect to the law and brazenly hitting policemen because you are well connected is certainly demoralising. However, if action is taken against law breakers, it will surely motivate us.”

Several incidents of this kind have taken place in the state in the past in which not only constable-rank personnel but station head officers and in charge of police posts have been manhandled or mobbed by agitating crowds and political leaders.

Recently, in the Kaladhungi incident, Balwant Singh Kanyal, a BJP leader, was shot dead by a BSP activist inside the Kaladhungi police station.

This lead to arson and violence. The police station was also set ablaze. Policemen too were brutally beaten up by the mob resulting in one policeman’s death.

The people who indulged in looting, arson and violence said that Kanyal who had gone to seek police protection was shot dead in full police presence.

It was said that the police was involved in the incident. This resulted in an irate mob burning vehicles and lynching of Puran Sharma, a head constable. This lead to the suspension of the SHO with immediate effect.

Last year, in a severe blow to the morale of the police, two BJP leaders beat up policemen on road duty.

One of them, Umesh Aggarwal, who holds a ministerial rank, even allegedly tore the uniform of the policemen.

Both leaders got away scot free while the poor constables and home guard, who dared to challenge the wrongdoings of ruling party politicians, found themselves at the receiving end.

This depicts the plight of the police personnel in the state. A lot of hue and cry was raised over this and surprisingly, since the case involved the ruling party leaders, no senior police officer dared to initiate action against the guilty.

Not to forget the alleged fake encounter of Ranbir Singh in July which led to the complete demoralisation of the police force. The state government had later ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Roorkee, September 18
To keep ‘mallyudh’ (mud wrestling) alive, the oldest traditional sport of the country, a group of local wrestlers are pitched against all odds here.

Struggling against the paucity of funds in the absence of any financial and other logistic support, these wrestlers have carved out a small ‘akhara’ for themselves in a local cemetery.

The ‘akhara’, set up by Irshaad Khaleefa, a former wrestler of the area around 25 years back, has become an assembly point for these wrestlers.

Most of them hail from downtrodden sections of society and are involved in menial jobs. Some of them are small-time hawkers selling fruits and vegetables while some work as labourers.

The wrestlers, who are 35 to 40 in number, lie in the age group of 12 to 35 years. It is their love for the sport that has enabled them to overcome all shortcomings, rekindling hopes of revival of ‘mallyudh’, which, otherwise, was on the verge of extinction in the region.

Irshaad Khaleefa, who imparts training to budding wrestlers every evening, claimed that despite all odds, the ‘akhara’ has produced many renowned wrestlers like Dilshaad Chandosi and Shamsher Chandosi.

On problems being faced by budding grapplers, Irshaad Khaleefa lamented no one was ready to help them.

“The organisation of sport activities in a cemetery is enough to tell the sorry state of affairs. The authorities here talk big but do nothing,” rued Khaleefa.

He added that they had approached government authorities for financial help many times but in vain.

“The utmost requirement of a wrestler is proper nutrition but as most of my disciples belong to poor families, they do not get a proper diet. Due to my limited resources, I am unable to help them in this regard,” said Khaleefa.

He added that whatever the wrestlers earn from their menial jobs and local wrestling bouts, they spend it on building their physique.

“Earlier, ‘dangals’ (mud-wrestling bouts) used to be organised during every festival. This was the main source of income for wrestlers.

“With drastic reduction in the number of ‘dangals’ in the region, the wrestling scenario has totally changed of late,” said the coach.

The ‘khaleefa’ (guru) maintained that though cricket has overshadowed all sports in the country, people in this rural area still love ‘mallyudh’. “In the ‘dangal’ on Id every year, over 20,000 persons gather at our akhara,” he said.

“If the government or social organisations come forward to help wrestlers here, they can touch new heights,” said Khaleefa maintaining that sports is a good way to keep the youth away from drugs and crime.

Dehradun, September 18
A steady increase in the prices of fruits have adversely affected the business of fruit sellers. For the past three or four months, the prices have increased due to insufficient rain leading to poor fruit yield.

While the prices of Indian fruits have nearly doubled, international fruits seem be out of the reach of the masses.

Red apples from Australia, New Zealand and China, and other items such as grapes, kiwi, sweet tamarind, dates and guava, etc, are of imported quality and a bit too heavy on the pocket.

“Earlier, local apples were sold for Rs 40 a kg, at present the rate is Rs 80 a kg. Other fruits such as banana, mausambi, pineapple and pomegranate are also selling dearly. Moreover, imported apple is priced at Rs 150 or Rs 250 a kg and is less preferred to the local fruits,” said ML Dhora, a fruit seller.

High quality exclusive variety of imported fruits are especially purchased from the markets of Delhi and then sold here.

“Our sales have definitely been affected compared to last year. Earlier, people used to purchase fruits without any hesitation, this year they are purchasing fruits in lesser quantity. Imported apples, selling for a rate as high as Rs 350 a kg, are undoubtedly the choice of affluent class,” said Farooq Ahmed, another fruit seller.

“Though the taste of international fruits is better compared to that of the local ones, I cannot afford to have these expensive fruits on a daily basis,” said Neelima, a local resident.

However, with very less time left for the festivals to begin, fruit sellers are expecting that fruit prices might increase, indirectly giving them an opportunity to earn their share of profit.

“Apart from regular fruits, we have even got a special muskmelon from Arab, each costing Rs 600. Till now we haven’t got the news, but we are expecting the prices to increase in the near future and as it’s a season of festival, we are sure people will throng the fruit market in large numbers,” added Dhora.

Dehradun, September 18
With a motive to spread awareness about the benefits of belly dancing, INSYNC fitness studio organised a workshop here today.

Like other wellness oriented exercises or any form of meditation, belly dance is becoming one of the most popular dance forms in the city.

It has various vigorous dance steps, fun quotient combined with a strong feeling of unleashing one’s negative energy and absorbing the positive one.

In countries like Egypt, Arab and Indonesia, belly dancing is in vogue for several years and a large number of women are following it.

However, in India with yoga, tango, salsa, jive and many other dance forms, belly dance is catching up with women, mostly in the cosmopolitan cities.

“In Delhi, Mumbai and other metro cities, belly dance has already set its mark as it not only rejuvenates the mind, but also help people to shed those extra kilos. And as we wanted to aware women and help them to learn the basic we organised this kind of workshop for the first time in Dehradun,” informed Mohammad Reza, organiser of the event.

Women of various age groups, in full enthusiasm, participated to learn the basics as well to spend leisure time amid friends.

Trained dancers from Brazil danced on Arabic tunes and inspired others to sync in the moment full of energy and passion.

“At our studio, we are running aerobics, yoga and salsa classes and today as we got such a good response we plan to make belly dancing a regular part of our studio so that women, who are interested, can keep their mind, body and soul revitalised.”

Moreover, along with enlightening people about the basics of this dancing, Tai-chi, a part of martial arts, was also taught by the trainers.

Louisiana, one of the belly dancers for the workshop, said it’s a delight to teach women who were so happy and excited about this form of dance.