Haridwar, January 5
After bringing in a yoga revolution of its kind, Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev has taken another leap with the inauguration of his ambitious project Patanjali Food and Herbal Park today. Swami Ramdev along with his protégé Acharya Bala Krishan, now is moving towards bringing in an agricultural revolution in India.

The park, touted as world’s largest food park, is situated at Padartha village in Lakshar tehsil, Haridwar district. Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Subodh Kant Sahay inaugurated the park, along with three Chief Ministers, namely Shiv Raj Chauhan from Madhya Pradesh, Prem Kumar Dhumal from Himachal Pradesh and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from Uttarakhand.

Though 11 state chief ministers were scheduled to attend the function, they couldn’t turn up for various reasons.

Sahay said as the park would be having a direct setup with farmers, an agricultural revolution was bound to happen. More than 65 per cent of the population depended on agriculture. “Farmers’ income will increase as they will get the best price for their agricultural produce and the percentage of vegetables that perish in the event of a glut will be lessened through the food-processing techniques. Also, the quality of agro products will improve,” said Sahay.

He also remarked that probably there was no park of such magnitude around the world and urged other states to follow this unique concept aimed at uplifting farmers and health standards.

The concept behind this food park is to bring farmers to the fore and give them their value which is illegally tapped by middlemen in the open market. Notably, the park has accredited with ISO 9001 and 14001 quality standards.

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said while Yoga Guru Ramdev was already healing the minds of people through his yoga techniques, now through the healthy food and juice products he would be healing their bodies too. He gave credit to Swami Ramdev for spreading yoga and making Uttarakhand a pioneer in this art.

Chauhan and Dhumal also lauded the efforts and vision of Swami Ramdev and voiced to set up such projects in their respective states so that agricultural revolution spreads in the whole country.

Dehradun, January 5
Cold wave continues to prevail in Uttarakhand with winter reaching its peak level. It was another cold day in Dehradun with maximum temperature dipping to the level of 11 degrees Celsius.

It was only in 1996 that the maximum temperature fell to a level of 11.2 degrees Celsius during winter. In 1993, too, the maximum temperature had gone down to a level of 11.1 degrees Celsius. It was only in 1992 that the maximum temperature dipped to 10.9 degrees Celsius.

According to the Director, Meteorological Centre, Dehradun, Dr Anand Sharma, foggy conditions will continue for another day and the skies are expected to get clearer by Thursday.

Meanwhile, fog continued to envelop Dehradun, as people preferred remaining indoors. The visibility was very poor and the motorists had to keep their headlights on to prevent possibility of any mishap.

Dehradun, January 5
In these cold wintry days, hand-knitted woollens are providing relief to Doonites. Unlike branded woollens, which are high on cost and low on warmth factor, hand-knitted woollens have made a niche market and are considered best to protect oneself in cold biting days.

Providing people varied options, the ongoing handloom expo has displayed a big variety of hand-knitted woollens. From basic socks to jackets, women and men from different self-help groups of Uttarakhand are busy attending customers as they knit new designs.

“We are from Chamoli district and have socks, shawls, cardigans made out of pure sheep wool. Under the banner of the Sai Durga Self-Help Group and Gaura Mahadev Self-Help Group, our team of 20 members travels to various exhibitions and is happy to gain recognition for creating genuine products,” said Pushkar Singh, coordinator of the two self-help groups.

In a range of Rs 60 to Rs 800, warm, nature friendly and hand-knitted woollens can easily last for five to 10 years. “We are from Dunda village of Uttarkashi district and in the city the second time for an exhibition. The response over the years has been above average as the people, who value hand-knitted woollens, prefer it and for the past two days of extreme cold weather, people have been demanding these varieties a lot,” said an elated Roshini Negi, a worker of Diamond Self-Help Group.

However, along with these stalls, there are local shops, which are attracting customers to come and splurge. Be it socks, gloves, cardigans, shawls, caps, children wear and hand-knitted woollens, all stuff is as fine as machine-made ones. Doon Knitwear Store, which is as old as 40 years, has been one of the favourite woollens stores and has fixed customers.

With more than 100 women working for the store, designs and pattern keep on changing with the time. “It’s not even the end of winters and we are going out of stock. And even though there’s an endless variety of branded wears, it hasn’t affected our business. People are very fond of hand-knitted stuff as they value items which have a better life and quality,” said Anuradha, a worker at the store.

“I purchased handloom socks from a stall at the handloom expo and loved it for its warmth and quality,” said Rashi, a customer.

Dehradun, January 5
At the National Children’s Science Congress event, Dr Ashok Kumar Pant from the Uttarakhand Chapter was awarded the title of the best state coordinator. The event was held from December 27 to 31 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in which children in the age group 10-17 years participated from all over India and nine other South-Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.

A total of 15 students from Uttarakhand participated and presented research papers, models and other literary information on “Planet Earth, Our Home: Understand Care”.

However, under the People’s Association of Hill Area Launchers (PAHAL), an NGO, a permanent member of the National Council for Science Technology and Communication (NCSTC) and as a state coordinator of the science congress many such events were organised for the development and popularisation of science.

“We as an NGO work at block, district and state levels so that the children can develop interest in science and in future continue doing research work that can lead to better development of the state and nation as a whole,” said PAHAL president Dr Kamla Pant.

Since 1996, Dr Ashok Pant has been earnestly working at a grass-root level so that a large number children can understand the nitty-gritties of science. Presently, Dr Ashok Pant also holds a position of scientific advisory at PAHAL and state coordinator at the science congress. “It’s a moment of pride as from a small state like Uttarakhand, Dr Pant has been conferred such an honourable title,” said senior scientist GK Sharma.

Furthermore, at the ongoing 97th Indian National Congress at Thiruvananthapuram two students from Uttarakhand will participate and two students will be given a chance to showcase a presentation in Kanyakumari on “Myths of the solar eclipse” as their topic.

“It was a great moment for me to present my models and explain the problems being faced by people of Selaqui, Dehradun, due to the ongoing deforestation,” said Diksha Joshi, a participant.

Haridwar, January 5
Two engineers belonging to Jal Vidyut Nigam have brought laurels for the state by being awarded with Bhim Rao Ambedkar Fellowship National Awards. The engineers, Vivek Kumar and KP Singh, have been accorded this fellowship award for their contribution to the economically and socially downtrodden strata of society.

The award was given by the Bharatiya Dalit Sahitya Academy in New Delhi recently. Various felicitation programmes were being held for the duo here in the city.

KP Singh has been selected from Pauri Garhwal district and Vivek Kumar from Haridwar district for the award. Expressing happiness on being selected for the prestigious award, they have expressed their desire to work with more vigour for the downtrodden.

“The feeling for working for those who are not privileged is in itself unique and when smile comes on the faces of these people one feels rewarded. But awards from other sections make you feel that your efforts are being recognised and propels you to work with more determination,” said KP Singh.

The Urja Association held a programme in honour of both engineers where they were given souvenirs. Department employees lauded their efforts and contribution towards the society.

Dehradun, January 5
The Little Master Cricket Club won by 56 runs against the Little Bird team at Banke Lal Shah Memorial Cricket Tournament underway at Ranger Ground, here today.

Batting first, Little Master Cricket Club batsmen gave their best on the field to score 151 runs in allotted 20 overs. Opener Mukesh was the highest scorer for the team with 30 runs in 23 balls, whereas another opener Dhananjay made 17 runs in 18 balls.

It was middle order batsman Amit who scored 52 runs in just 32 balls. He gave his team the much-needed acceleration in the run rate.

The team ended piling up 151 runs. For Little Bird team, Aayush took three wickets, whereas Vipul took two wickets.

Chasing the victory target of 152 runs, Little Bird team got all out for 95 runs. Opener Rohan scored 38 runs in 54 balls, whereas middle order batsman Rinku scored 8 runs.

Majority of the runs in the game came in the form of extras.

For Little Master Cricket Club Shekhar, Shubham, Mukesh took and Amit took two wickets each. 

Dehradun, January 5
The Khurbura XI team defeated Doon Warrior team by 22 runs at the ongoing 58th District Cricket League underway at Survey Stadium here today.

Batting first, Khurbura XI team piled a mammoth total of 225 runs. Scintillating century by Shuham helped the team score a massive total. Though, openers could not give a good start to the team.

Opener Shivesh got out for 4 runs, whereas fielder Vipul caught another opener Shivam when he was on playing on 15 runs.

It was Shubham for the team who scored 101 runs in just 82 balls, whereas middle order batsman scored 21 runs. For Doon Warrior, Jack took three wickets.

In reply, Doon Warrior team was all out for 204 runs. For Doon Warrior, Sonu hit 101 runs. But other batsman failed to capitalise on the start given by Sonu and the team bundled at 204 runs.

For Khurbura XI team Amit took five wickets, whereas Shubham took two wickets.

Dehradun, January 5
The Nainital and Dehradun team won their respective matches at the state-level football tournament organised by the Panchayat Raj Yuva Kaliyan Games here today.

In the first match of the day, the Dehradun team outplayed Pauri by 4-3. Atul was the star performer for the team. He scored a brace for his team. The Dehradun team struck early in the match, taking 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.

It was Atul who scored the goal through a pass from its mid fielder. After scoring the first goal, Atul scored the another goal barely 5 minutes later making it 2-0 for the team.

After receiving the two setbacks in the match, the Pauri team made a come back through Ashish, to reduce the lead in the 22nd minute. But Dehradun team strikers were unstoppable by the Pauri team defence. Dehradun hit its second goal of the match through Vivek in the 24th minute.

The Pauri team kept trying to keep its chances alive in the match. It made a comeback for the second time in the match through Kalash, who scored in the 32nd minute.

But, the Dehradun team made a counter attack in the 37th minute through Aditya to 4-2.

The Pauri scored another goal through Vivek making it 4-3, but failed completely to score an equaliser. Thus, losing the match to Dehradun.

Meanwhile, in the second match, the Nainital team outplayed the Champawat team by 2-1. For the Champawat team Gopal Singh and Deepak scored for the team, while for Champawat, Pawan was the lone goal scorer. 

Dehradun, January 5
The Udham Singh Nagar defeated Hariyana in the team event of badminton competition organised by Panchayat Raj Yuva Kaliyan Games here today.

In the singles match, Mohit of Udham Singh Nagar outplayed Chirag of Hariyana team in two sets.

Mohit displayed good badminton skill on the court to win the first set by 21-11. The second set was no different as Mohit won it by 21-14.

In the doubles match, the pair of Mohit and Rachit (Nainital) defeated the pair of Lalit and Aman (Hariyana) by 21-14 and 21-14.

In the second match, the Nainital team defeated Rudraprayag team by 2-0. In the singles match, Raj Kumar (Nainital) defeated Dipender (Rudraprayag) by 21-2 and 21-7.

While in doubles, Mohit and Sandeep (Nainital) beat Vikas and Dipendra of (Rudraparyag) by 21-10 and 21-2 points.

In third match, the Pithoragarh team defeated the Bageshwar team by 2-0. Anil of the Pithoragarh team defeated Mohit of Bageshwar by 21-9 and 21-10.

While in doubles Anil and Deepak (Pithoragarh) beat Mohit and Prashant (Bageshwar) 21-7 and 21-9.

Meanwhile in the girls’ match, the Dehradun team defeated Tehri by 2-0.

Sashi of the Dehradun team beat Pooja of the Tehri team by 21-5 and 21-2. In doubles, the pair of Sashi and Nidhi (Dehradun) defeated Pooja and Surya (Tehri) by 21-10 and 21-11.