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Eves continue crusade against booze
600 women from 25 villages lend support
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Ordnance Factory Day celebrated
Villagers demand protection from wild pigs, bears
Induction training for scientists begins
‘Fattafat football’ loses popularity in Doon
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Eves continue crusade against booze
Pitthoragarh, March 18 “We have warned the district administration to check the supply of liquor. If they fail to do so, we will resume our movement at the district headquarters,” said Rama Tamta, gram pradhan of Bilona village. As the date for the annual auction for liquor shops for the next financial year in the state nears, sporadic demonstrations against booze are being witnessed in other parts of Kumaon as well. In the Hawalbag area of Almora, villagers from Nakuata, Rankhola, Pathqura on Monday submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate demanding the closure of a liquor shop at Korichina town. “Due to the liquor shop, the education of children in primary schools suffers. Their fathers, who have become habitual of liquor, are not paying for the expenditure of their school-going children,” said Jyoti Upadhaya, a social worker from the Hawalbag area who led the demonstration. The anti-liquor movement is also brewing in Pitthoragarh town where women from villages are planning an anti-liquor demonstration in the last week of March when the auction of liquor shops for the next financial year starts. “We have run the anti-liquor movement in villages near Pitthoragarh town from 1990-91. During this movement, we did not only oppose the opening of liquor shops in town, but also punished liquor-addict males who beat their wives and children,” said Prema Bamm, a social worker who has been leading an anti-liquor movement in the district for the past 30 years. “We will also demonstrate this time before the annual liquor auction takes place as we want the abolition of liquor from Uttarakhand,” she said. The anti-liquor movement in the state was started by women in Tehri district in the early ’70s when they, led by Tincharimi, set liquor shops ablaze. The movement, which later spread to Pauri and other parts of the region, was supported by the leaders of the Chipko movement, but it failed to get imposed a ban on liquor sale in the region. “Due to the governments’ thirst
for revenue and involvement of mainstream party leaders in the business, the anti-liquor movement failed in Garhwal. “Now, barring some minor
demonstrations by women groups, there is no opposition of liquor in the region,” said Lalit Kothiyal, a journalist based in Pauri. In Kumaon region, the anti-liquor movement became successful to some extent in Gangolihat and Bageshwar region where bowing to the pressure from women groups, liquor shops had to be shifted away from the town. “This time, we will put pressure that liquor shops be kept away from main towns. We will also seek a ban on smuggled liquor,” said Rajni Devi, president of the Mahila Mangal Dal in Bilona area of Bageshwar district.
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600 women from 25 villages lend support
Almora, March 18 Having already garnered the support of women from about 25 villages, women activists, who are otherwise busy from dusk to dawn attending to household chores as well as the farm needs, are now set to extend their support base. Right now, they claim to have a strength of about 600 women who are up in arms against the illegal liquor trade. Talking to The Tribune, Kiran, a resident of Langran village, said, “Ideally, there should be a ban on liquor sale. You can understand the plight of women in villages when their husbands spend 80 per cent of what they earn daily, which is not more than Rs 150 to Rs 200 a day, on liquor.” She questioned the policy of the government on liquor and said that on the one hand, various governments claim to be committed to discouraging the sale of liquor while on the other, they allow opening of more shops without giving any consideration to legal norms. “In our village, we have two outlets and these are in the vicinity of educational institutions and religious places. It is not safe for women and children to venture out. Things do not stop here. Illegal sale continues from several shops including that of grocers, eating joints etc,” she asserted. Kiran related that over the past few weeks, women from villages have been holding demonstrations in places like Almora, Basoli, Jageshwar and Langran. The women promised to intensify the agitation from April. The efforts of these women are being supported by the Left parties and smaller parties like the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party.
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The guiding light
Almora: Chandra Pant of Daniya village has been agitating against liquor for more than two decades and is the guiding force of the movement.
“We had successfully got a liquor shop removed from our village after a month-long
agitation that involved a road blockade in 1994. This was followed a month later by thwarting an attempt to open a shop in the neighbouring village of Kaslikhan.
“When a local muscleman tried to sell liquor by force, the women stripped him and blackened his face. Ever since, the government has not dared to open a liquor shop in these two villages,” she recounted with pride. But she also received complaints of liquor being sold at various shops in various places, including her own village. “How do we fight liquor barons who have the support of the administration?” she said. The proud lady has been maintaining a daily diary of her accounts related to the campaign against liquor. She said that the women needed guidance from legal experts who could guide them on how to approach the judiciary with their plea and save hundreds of homes from being ruined.
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Fresh snow adds to villagers’ woes
Pitthoragarh, March 18 “Due to the heavy snowfall on February 8, electric poles in the area were either damaged or disturbed causing disruption of electricity to the villages of Khet, Dar, Tajum, Jamku, Suva, New Suva and Bongling situated near the Indo-Nepal border,” said Navneet Pandey, Dharchula Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). He said efforts were on to repair the damaged electric lines. “We have had neither electricity for the past 40 days nor kerosene oil as the road is blocked at Chautualdar for the past one year. This situation is not only affecting our daily routine, but also spoiling the future of our children as they are not able to prepare for their on-going board examinations,” said Kunti Devi, a resident of Khet village. The Dharchula SDM said after getting the compliant from the villagers, he ordered the officers of the Electricity Department to visit the village. “But 40 days have been passed and not even a junior worker from the department has visited the village,” say Kunti Devi.
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Pt Jasraj adds to Kumbh aura
Haridwar, March 18 It could only have been an artiste of the level of Pandit Jasraj who could carve out a place of his own amid the flurry of Kumbh activities and performances of various artistes in the Kumbh city. A noted exponent of vocal classical music, Pandit Jasraj rendered a high octane level performance and left the audience asking for more. The crowd seemed unmindful of the cold that came from the Shivalik hills at night. A recipient of several national, international awards including the Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademy, Lata Mangeshkar Puruskar, Sangeet Kala Ratna, Jasraj gave a soul-satisfying performance at Karshni Udasin Ashram camp. Talking to mediapersons, the maestro urged people get together to clean up the Ganga. He said that the outflow of sewage into the Ganga should be stopped first. “Local units should be made accountable by the government by making stern laws. Otherwise, the hundred of crores that are being spent on the Ganga cleaning mission appear just like another ritual as the results are not up to the mark,” said Jasraj. On the pupils who will take his legacy forward, Jasraj said it all depended on the people as he has four students who are worthy of the task. He added that classical music is the mainstay of music and needs dedication and constant practice. “One can get into core of music by having an inner relation with the guru. Only then can one master this art,” Jasraj told budding singers. Jatin and Lalit of the renowned erstwhile Bollywood composer duo are nephews of Pandit Jasraj and the melody in their hit musical films - from ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ to ‘Mohabbatein’ - could be attributed to the uncle-nephews connection. But the veteran musician refrained from commenting on the feud between the duo who have parted ways. Jasraj has also urged the Central government to give an annual stipend to Bharat Ratna and Padma awardees. He said this would motivate as well as take care of the financial and other needs of the awardees so that they can concentrate on the art which had brought laurels to the nation. He not only gave a stage performance, but also visited Brahmkund in Har-ki-Pauri today and, along with his wife, performed rituals and offered milk to the river.
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Historian sad at Clock Tower demolition
Mussoorie, March 18
The Palika is investing Rs 19 lakh on its structures and the rest Rs 20 lakh approximately will be spent by businessman from Mumbai Sanjay Narang, a close friend of eminent cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Noted historian and chronicler of Mussoorie Gopal Bhardwaj, reminiscing the good old days of the Clock Tower at Landour Bazar, says in 1892 a site where the Clock Tower is situated presently, a police station guarded the border of the civil area and the cantonment in which it was shifted later and a shop of stone masonry came into existence. The Municipal Council bought the place for Rs 300 as a stand for jhampanis and hand-pulled rickshaws. Bhardwaj goes on to say that barrister Darshan Lal, the only administrator during the British era in the town, gave the contract of the Clock Tower to famous constructor of the time Ugrasen Verma and the construction was completed in 1938-39. The clock came from a famous company of London, JB Joyce & Co, the same company that established the clock at St George’s College in Barlowganj. The Westminster chime echoed in the valleys of Woodstock and Camel’s Back road whenever the bell tolled. Bhardwaj opines that firstly instead of preserving the old heritage, the Palika was destroying it; secondly if they were doing so, a different place for the Clock Tower could be selected and it could be on the top of the Clock Tower Café owned by Sanjay Narang. He further says to break the old heritage building and construct it once again at the same place is really baffling and unheard off. Bhardwaj also said now every one had a watch on their wrists, so the construction of new tower was sheer foolishness. Public money could have been used more sensibly or only the clock of the tower could have been replaced instead of demolishing the whole tower. Rumours are also rife that a certain section of contractors are behind this whole futile exercise. Narang owns Clock Tower Café adjacent to the disputed Clock Tower. The Mussoorie Congress is also opposing the sale of the Clock Tower in such a clandestine fashion to a businessman.
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Ordnance Factory Day celebrated
Dehradun, March 18
During the exhibition high technology instruments, which are made in the factory were showcased. T-72, T-90, MVT Arjun Tank, missile guide, driver night shift, anti aircraft and commander sight were some of such instruments. RP Tewari, AF of the Ordnance Factory, said the cost of the instruments kept at the exhibition ranged from thousands to crores. Some of the instruments even cost Rs 2.5 crore. Tewari said the small instruments kept there were sent to the paramilitary forces and other instruments to the Maidek, Ahmedabad, and the Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF), Chennai. Later, these two firms sent these directly to the Army. In the evening, a cultural programme was also organised. The event was inaugurated by General Manager Arun Khanvalkar in the morning by flagging off a harmony race. Khanvalkar also hoisted the flag of the ordnance factory on the occasion. There are about 40 to 42 ordnance
factories in India and this day is celebrated by all of them by organising such
programmes.
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Tourists’ entry banned in Gorson meadow
Dehradun, March 18 The order has stunned travel agents who do not know what to make of the order that has left their tourists high and dry. Most bookings by foreign tourists had already been done well in advance. The meadow will now open in April when most of the snow would have melted. For the majority of tourists, trekking in the snow-bound meadow would have been an added attraction for which they make bookings well in advance. “We do not know the motivation behind imposing the ban. It is a case of poor planning at the ground level. The order is going to affect the livelihood of hundreds of tour operators and guides who will have to be content with a short tourism season,” said Sunil Kainthola of Mountain Shepherd, a tour and travel company. The order has also poured cold water on the tourism itinerary of several guides who were looking forward to a good season that would have given them gainful employment. Due to environmental considerations, meadows in remote areas are opened for tourism activity for a few months in a year. In the Nanda Devi National Park, entry is permitted between May and October, an arrangement that most tourists and tour operators know about and plan their itinerary accordingly. In the periphery of the park, all-year-round entry is permitted. Interestingly, Dayara and Dodital meadows in Uttarkashi districts, 24 km away from the nearest road head, are agog with tourists as the late snow spell has brought in several local and foreign tourists, but a ban on entry in Gorson meadow that lies above Auli and is nearer to the road head has baffled tour operators. “Far from encouraging all-round tourism activity at the meadows, orders such as these are going to tarnish the image of Uttarakhand that is slowly emerging on the world tourism map,” said Kainthola. Taking the ban to ridiculous heights, the Forest Department has also imposed a ban on cameras much to the consternation of tourists. “A camera is an important accessory to capture memories. Some ill-informed people in the Forest Department are hell bent upon puncturing that tourism-friendly image of the state,” said Kainthola.
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Lost-and-found cell unites 1,500 with families
As the lost-and-found cell was working round-the-clock during the recently concluded Shahi Snan of the Maha Kumbh, it has united 1,500 lost people with their families. In the whole mela area seven such cells have been set up. The sights are usually emotional at these cells, whatever may be the situation. But shockingly, there were some people who deliberately left their near ones here. Like Amri Devi, a resident of Rajasthan, who got lost in the crowd of Kumbh. But when cell personnel enquired about her whereabouts and details of her sons, they were left in utter shock as her son Kanhaiya Lal straightly refused to take her back and said they did it deliberately and didn’t want her back. Similarly, there were other four such instances where some family members deliberately had left their relatives at the mercy of the Kumbh police. On this peculiar situation, in charge of the cell Om Kant Bhushan informed Mela DIG Alok Sharma, who is gauging the situation, took a unique step. He ordered that all these deliberately shed people, on government expenses, would be taken back to their homes accompanied by a police personnel each, so that their family members did not repeat the act.
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Villagers demand protection from wild pigs, bears
Pitthoragarh, March 18 There are a large number of Himalayan wild bears in the Munsiyari and Didihat region, where a 30-year-old
woman was attacked by
a bear near her village in the Baku area yesterday. “The woman was immediately rushed to the primary health
centre, Didihat, by 108 Emergency ambulance, where she is being treated and a claim for compensation has
been made on the Forest Department,” said Harendra Singh Chufal, Didihat Block pramukh. Not only in Didihat and Munsiyari subdivision of Pitthoragarh district, women farmers of Champawat district have also come to the district authorities demanding protection from the herds of wild pigs, which are damaging their potato crop and pushing their families to starvation. A delegation of women from the villages near Khetikhan in Champawat district met SDM of Lohaghat TS Martolia yesterday and demanded that the district administration should
initiate steps to protect their potato crop from the attacks of pigs. “We purchase costly potato seeds and sow these after doing heavy investment on other inputs, but the herds of pigs come during night and destroy our crop,” said Susheela Bohra, junior pramukh of the Lohaghat Block Development Committee. After the protest by these women from more than nine villages of the Khetikhan area, a potato-growing area in Kumoan, the forest administration has also stepped up vigil and
ordered a search for a licenced gun owner, who could kill these pigs that are damaging the crops of the farmers. “We deputed one licence-holder hunter, Tara Dutt Kharkwal, for this work. He has been authorised to kill these pigs,” said SP Singh, District Forest Officer, Champawat.
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Induction training for scientists begins
Dehradun, March 18 Inaugurating the programme, ICFRE Director-Gen Dr GS Rawat said the training programme was of immense benefit to both scientists and researches alike. He said newly inducted scientists must pledge to take forest research works to the greater heights. Six scientists and researchers from the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, 14 from the Rain
Forest Research Institute, Jorhat, three scientists and officers from the Himalayan Forest Research Institute, Shimla, two from the Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur, two from the Institute of
Forest Productivity, Ranchi, and one from ICFRE, Dehradun, are taking part in the
training programme. Deputy Director-Gen Omkar Singh, Director of the FRI Dr SS Negi and head of the Silviculture Division Dr VRR Singh were present on the occasion. The training programme will conclude on May 23.
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General Thimayya Polo Cup
Dehradun, March 18 The IMA team was represented by junior under officer Mahadev Suryawanshi, gentelman cadets Narender Singh, Upender Ahlawat (Captain), Nikhil Kumar, Anurag Bisht, and
Rakesh Gautam. The Inaugural Young Indian Army Oxford and Cambridge Universities Polo Cup was played at the Army Equestrian Centre on March 4, 2010, in which gentleman cadet Upender Ahlawat and gentleman cadet Nikhil Kumar represented by the young Indian Army team, along with two cadets of the National Defence Academy. The Young Indian Army team beat the British team by seven goals to three to win the inaugural cup. Lt Gen RS Sujlana, AVSM, VSM, Commandant, IMA conveyed his appreciation to all participants, especially for gentleman cadet Upender Ahlawat who captained the IMA team and gentleman cadet Nikhil Kumar who captained the young Indian Army team for their superb performance.
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IMA shine at equestrian championship
Dehradun, March 18 Participating in the 60-km category for the first-time ever, Team Red comprising Capt Kunal Lonari, gentleman cadet Anupam Singh, instructors Baldev Raj and RN Shinde won the Team Gold. Team Grey comprising gentleman cadet V Arul, Cadet Jai Singh, cadet Jitender Kumar, and groom Chain Singh came second to bag the
Team Silver. Instructor RN Shinde won the bronze medal and cadet Jai Singh was placed fourth. A commendable achievement for the team was that in a field of 46 riders, Indian Military Academy riders bagged all positions from third to 10th in the final tally without any elimination of participating horses. The IMA Equestrian team participated in the senior and junior category of National Equestrian Championship Endurance in individual and team events. This was the first foray of the IMA Equestrian team in Endurance. The performance of IMA Red and IMA Grey teams in the National Equestrian Championship Endurance Senior Competition 60 km in a field of 46 riders was as follows:- (a) IMA Red Team - Team Gold in NEC Endurance 60 km. (i) Capt Kunal Lonari, astride Tabasco - overall fifth. (ii) Dafadar Baldev Raj astride Gambler - overall sixth. (iii) Lance Dafadar RN Shinde astride Moonstar - bronze medal and overall third. (iv) GC Anupam Singh, astride Farishta - overall eighth (b) IMA Grey Team - Team Silver in NEC Endurance 60 km. (i) Cadet Jai Singh, astride Maharaja - Highly Commended and overall fourth. (ii) Gentleman Cadet V Arul, astride Muqaddar - overall seventh. (iii) Cadet Jitender Kumar astride Tejaswi - overall 10th. (iv) Groom Chain Singh astride Mahfooz - overall ninth.
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‘Fattafat football’ loses popularity in Doon
Dehradun, March 18 Not much is known how this form of the game came into being in Dehradun. But it is said this format made its ground in the city some 10 to 15 years back. It is very much similar to the T-20 cricket format that concentrates on power play. The “fattafat football” follows new rules about the number of player on each side, limiting the playing time of the game, rules about the player change for a team and new rules about the penalty shootout. A senior referees of Dehradun, Govind Singh Thapa, said the game is fast getting unpopular with every passing year. According him the reason for it getting unpopularity is that good teams lose their matches while the weak team emerge victorious in this format, which is not accepted by the players. This year just one tournament of this football took place at Sunderwala. According to Thapa, the game does not help football in any way. “You could only term it ‘fattafat football’, but it is not real football. One can not see skills, coordination, ball control and team work in this form, and neither does a player develop any skill. It is more so an individual game than teamwork. Therefore, it should not be given too much importance,” said Thapa. Earlier, the game was very popular in Dehradun. One could see 150 to 200 players participate in this tournament, with the team playing more than two matches in a day. The game was played on a ground, which is of half the size of the standard football field. The team consists of seven players on each side, who battle it out among themselves for 15 minutes before the whistle for the first half time is blown. If the game ends in a draw, penalty shootout is carried out. Both sides are awarded three penalties each to get the result. It had grown in popularity in places like Prem Nagar, FRI, Raipur, Clement Town and Cantt area. The Club team does not participate in the game, though players of the clubs form their own teams to take part in it.
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Bodybuilding
Haridwar, March 18 Paliwal has been giving coaching to the budding bodybuilders for the past two decades in which
his students have won many state and national-level awards. Paliwal qualified for the national-level judge during the two-day Samsung Classic Body Championship held in Mumbai by the Indian Body Builders Federation (IBBF). This is the first such qualification for any bodybuilder from the state and will pave way for more interest and popularity in bodybuilding competition. An elated Paliwal told The Tribune that now he felt his hard work had fructified and that now he had more responsibility to uplift the standard of the sport in state as well as in the whole country. “Now, I am looking forward for becoming an Asian-level judge and also simultaneously help bodybuilding aspirants from the state to get right exposure,” said Paliwal. The examination for the national judge was held in Ludhiana last November where he passed in A grade and later at Mumbai was accorded A-grade national judge certificate. Now, he is eligible to judge at all national championships, regional championships, state-district championships and invitational championships too. He was conferred award by Mister Universe Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri recipient Prem
Chand Dogra. “Meeting my idol and face of bodybuilding in India was one of the memorable moments of my life. The person whom I have idolised was giving me certificate and lauding me for my work. That’s indescribable,” said Paliwal on meeting the Indian legend of bodybuilding. When contacted IBBF general secretary Chetan Pathan said Paliwal deserved being a national-level judge and performed flawless in his debut competition in Mumbai. Uttarakhand bodybuilding president Rajeev Thapliyal has congratulated Paliwal on becoming a national-level judge and hoped that with this state will have more bodybuilders as well as judges too.
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Haridwar, March 18