Dehradun, April 26
While on the one hand, the Uttarakhand government has started an ambitious Sparsh Ganga campaign with an aim to clean the Ganga of every kind of pollution, on the other hand, the only plastic waste densification plant set up at Srinagar Garhwal has been closed due to official apathy.

Interestingly, the plastic waste densification plant was set up in January 2005 at Srinagar Garhwal following an initiative taken by Vipin Kumar, a plastic waste expert.

He had done lot of work in the collection, scientific disposal and recycling of plastic waste from Char Dham temples and tourist places for the past decade.

Plastic waste is collected manually from the hills and valleys and was transported to New Delhi for its scientific disposal.

Vipin Kumar prevailed on the state government to set up a plastic densification plant at Srinagar Garhwal as it was the central place in the Char Dham circuit. It would reduce the volume of the accumulated plastic waste, he had contended.

The densification of plastic reduces the volume of the waste to one-fourth and makes its transportation for further recycling purposes in the plains economically viable.

The plant was set up as a model of public-private partnership and started working from January 2005.

However, an order of the Uttarakhand Power Corporation to charge exorbitant rates from the plant has made operations economically unviable. The plant, having a power consumption capacity of 50 kw has to pay Rs 2 lakh as minimum power charges per month.

“I cannot sustain this economic burden and I was forced to close the plant in July 2008 as the state government did not respond to any of my requests,” commented Sunder Gupta, the private partner running the plant.

“How can the state government equate this plant, which has been doing great service for environment protection in the fragile Himalayan region, with a profit-making industry?” said Sunder Gupta. He demanded that the unit be charged at par with sewage treatment plants in the state.

Garbage, particularly plastic waste, has become a major environmental hazard in the Himalayas. The problem has become acute in Uttarakhand as it is a major tourist destination due to its famous pilgrimage centres, wildlife parks and sanctuaries, rivers, picturesque valleys and mountain peaks.

The number of tourists, including pilgrims, has increased manifold since the state came into being. More than seven million ‘Kanwariyas’ annually visit Uttarakhand and leave behind a lot of garbage from Gangotri to Haridwar.

Most of it is pushed into streams and rivers or strewn all over the mountainside. The problem of garbage has acquired gigantic proportions threatening the flora and fauna of the state.

"More than a 100 tonnes of garbage, 70 per cent of which is plastic waste, is generated annually at the Char Dham temples of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath," Vipin Kumar, an expert on solid waste management, said.

There are no facilities to collect or treat garbage at Char Dham temples or at any other place in the middle Himalayas and hence most of it is pushed into the rivers.

The densification and flaking plant built at a cost of Rs 34 lakh was an experiment to deal with plastic garbage using pollution-free technology.

“Since plastic waste is voluminous, it is uneconomical to take it for recycling to units in Delhi or elsewhere. The Srinagar plant used to densify the plastic waste into granules for reuse," Sunder Gupta explained.

With the Char Dham Yatra starting from May 15, the problem of accumulation of plastic waste would increase with the shutting down of the Srinagar plant.

Already plastic waste has started accumulating at Gangotri - 10 tonnes, Sonprayag - 30 tonnes and Joshimath - 30 tonnes.

Nearly 200 tonnes of plastic garbage was collected in 2008 from Garhwal Char Dham circuit by garbage collectors. Neither does the Char Dham Parishad, which controls the revered Hindu temples, have a system of garbage collection nor do the nagar palikas or town area committees in the hills.

“We collect plastic garbage in summer through rag pickers at places where compacters have been installed to compress the waste,” said Vipin.

Interestingly, the second plastic waste densification plant set up at Katgodham in Kumaon region has been exempted from exorbitant power charges and has been running well since its start recently.

There is none in the state government to explain this discrimination.

A garbage heap in the Kumbh mela area. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Even the protected Rajaji National Park area and the Hill Bypass has not been left untouched by garbage.

Members of the Congress district unit met the Mela Health Officer and sought a deadline for the removal of garbage from the city.

Mela Health Officer Dr SP Aggarwal said that as soon as the last snan of the Maha Kumbh gets over on April 28, the cleaning operation would begin on a war footing in the entire Kumbh mela area.

He accepted that garbage and sewage were a major problem as mela camps were being dismantled, but things would start improving in a few weeks time.

The Mela Health Department is planning to dig holes, put garbage in these, cover these with sand and finally spray chemicals. But as the mela area is spread over hundreds of km, hundreds of additional sanitary workers and officers will have to be recruited to carry out this massive cleaning drive.

Haridwar, April 26
Advocating keeping a healthy lifestyle by every individual by practising yoga, Uttarakhand Ayurveda Director Pooja Bharadwaj stressed the need for a disciplined life style, which, if followed by every citizen, will only make the country more prosperous and stronger.

Dr Bharadwaj was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of a six-day yoga training programme for governmental health officers being held at Dev Sanskriti University in Haridwar. Notably, the university has been given the onus of teaching Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh health officers the art of yoga under a Central government project.

Lauding the efforts of the university in the field of incorporating yoga and ayurveda with scientific measures, Dr Bharadwaj said such efforts were paving the way for the hilly state to become an “ayush pradesh” and this orientation programme was a proof of the university’s expertise in the field of yoga.

“The need is to inculcate yoga and ayurveda concepts in students at each college and school in the state which will pave way for the rest of the states to follow suit seeing the positives of these two forms. Even basics like rising early, timely sleep, having light vegetarian food and following basic healthy routines as professed by Maharishi Charak and Sushrut will make one a healthy person,” she said.

Addressing trainee doctors, Director of Morarji Desai National Yoga Institute, New Delhi, IV Basav Reddy stated that yoga-aided medical therapy was fast being accepted worldwide too. He also shed light on the inter-relation of yoga, ayurveda and spirituality. Dr Reddy said the institute was trying to implement newer techniques by mixing yoga and ayurveda for more effective and better results.

Host university’s Dean OP Mishra termed the usage of yoga, modern therapy, ayurveda and psychology as a positive sign which would go a long way in making world population healthier.

The training programme will conclude on May 1 and be addressed by noted experts of yoga, ayurveda and related sciences. Among those who spoke were Dr Pranav Pandya, Swami Ved Bharti, Swami Anant Bharti, Vireshwar Upadhyay, Ishwar Bharadwaj, Ram Mahesh Mishra, Dr Kamakhya Kumar, Dr Ajit Tiwari and Dr Vandana Shrivastava.

Dehradun, April 26
The annual day celebration of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV)-1 was entirely a fun-filled programme at Survey Auditorium here today. The students as well as their teachers presented cultural programmes with great fervour during the celebration of the function.

Additional Survey General Manoj Tayal inaugurated the ceremony. The event initiated with the ceremony of the lighting of lamps followed by Saraswati Vandana, performed by students.

Principal Maurya presented annual report of the school.The students showcased a cultural programme of dance, drama and singing.

Meritorious students as well as children, who have performed well in extra-curricular activities, were also awarded with prizes. JM Rawat, Assistant Commissioner, KVS (RO), was the guest of honour who presented prizes to the students. 

Dehradun, April 26
Focus on school health programme, providing reproductive and child health services in remote districts and setting up of Sick Neo Birth Intensive Units will be the aim of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2010-2011.

Now, a team of doctors will keep tabs on the health of schoolchildren studying in government primary schools in remote districts.

Under the NRHM, the school health programme will be upgraded in 2010-11 and a dedicated team of doctors, along with other staff members, will take up health check-up of primary school students twice a year in every district.

The programme was started in 2008-2009, but in 2010-2011 the programme will be upgraded. “The health check-up of schoolchildren includes detection of anaemia, vitamin A deficiency, eye and skin diseases, respiratory infections, lack of personal hygiene and other health related matters,” said Dr AP Mamgai, Director of the national programmes.

Further, the WHO has also recommended making school health programmes part of school curriculum in all CBSE schools, after a global health survey conducted by the WHO pointed out the absence of hygiene awareness among students.

Besides, the Reproductive Child Health and Family Welfare Services in remote districts of Chamoli and Uttarakashi will be given a push. “The health centres will be equipped with doctors, who can carry cesarean operations, supported by transportation facilities,” said Dr Mamgai.

Dehradun, April 26
Welham Girls’ School hosted a two-day Saroj Srivastava Inter School English Debate competition as commemorative programmes 2010 on its premises here today. The competition is conducted every year in the memory of Saroj Srivastava, founder Principal of 
the school.

La Martiniere Girls’ College, Lucknow, Mayo College Girls’ School, Ajmer, Sherwood College, Nainital, St Joseph’s Academy, Dehradun, Daly College, Indore, Doon School, Dehradun, RIMC, Dehradun, Scindia School, Gwalior, Welham Boys’ School, Dehradun and Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, participating in the debate.

The preliminary round of the debate was held in the extempore format of debating with the debaters speaking “for” and “against” the motion. The topic of today’s debated was “In pursuit of scientific advancement, ethics can be overlooked”. The coalition and final rounds of the debate will be held tomorrow.

The judges for the English debates were Umesh Anand, publisher of the journal, Civil Society, Ameya Kilara, Aditya Verma and Dev Lahiri, Principal of Welham Boys’ School, who presided over the event.

Dehradun, April 26
Yadavindra Public School (YPS), Mohali, today defeated Doon School in the 24th Golden Jubilee Basketball Tournament being played at Welham Boys School’s indoor basketball court. The tournament is being conducted by the Welham Boys School under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India.

In the first match YPS, Mohali, trounced Doon School 54-45. It was Sanpreet of YPS who scored 24 points for his team while Rishab of Doon School scored 10 points for his side.

In the second match, MNNS, Rai, Sonepat, defeated Punjab Public School, Nabha. In a one-sided match, the Rai team scored 56 points while PPS could only score 15 points.

Akshay scored 34 points for the winners while Gurmeet was the top scorer with 13 points for the losers.

In the third match, Sri Ram School, Delhi, trounced Wynberg Allen, Mussoorie, 49-33. Madhav was the top scorer for the winners with 32 points.

In the next match, St Georges College, Mussoorie, defeated Doon School 39-28. Kamran was the best for the winners with nine points while Shivam of Doon School scored 10 points.

In the fifth match, Punjab Public School, Nabha, defeated Welham Boys (blue) 30-14. Gurmanjeet of the Nabha team scored 13 points while Chinmay of Welham Blues scored six points.

In the last match, MNNS, Rai, defeated Blue Bells School, Delhi, 53-27. Again Akshay of Rai sports school was the top scorer with 20 points while Abhay of Blue Bells scored seven points.