Dehradun, May 6
At least six agitating forest guards suffered minor injuries in the police lathicharge at the PCCF office campus today even as top forest officers in the state tried to broker a solution between the forest guards and the government.

The month-long agitation of the forest guards in Uttarakhand today turned violent when the police resorted to lathicharge after the agitators forcibly tried to lock the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Uttarakhand.

The incident happened in the morning. Senior forest officials tired to open the lock of the offices with the assistance of the police, which was resented by the forest guards. This led to an altercation and subsequent lathicharge. Six forest guards, including Arvind Dobhal, Inder Mohan Kothari, Mahendra Chauhan, Ved Prakash Naithani and Umed Singh Rana, suffered minor injuries in the lathicharge.

Perturbed forest guards also burnt the effigy of Chief Conservator of Forests Administration Rakesh Shah holding him responsible for the lathicharge. They also sought the removal of Shah from the Forest Headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Karmchari Sanyukt Parishad extended backing to the ongoing agitation of the forest guards. Thakur Prahalad Singh, president of the parishad, visited the Forest Headquarters in Dehradun and expressed solidarity with the agitators. He condemned lathicharge on the forest guards.

The forest guards are seeking better wages and promotional opportunities in the state. They allege they have been facing stagnation for long and the top forest officials did not seem interested to resolve their issues.

Meanwhile, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RBS Rawat held talks with the Uttarakhand Chief Minister over today’s lathicharge on the forest guards and their agitation expected to turn more vigorous in the days to come.

General secretary of the Uttarakhand Forest Guards Association RR Painuily said they would now intensify the agitation and ensure the closure of work at forest offices. He said it was completely injudicious on the part of the authorities to use force against the peacefully agitating forest guards.

Pitthoragarh, May 6
The Haldwani unit of the Defence Agriculture Research Laboratory (DARL), the agriculture wing of the DRDO, has gained success in planting two germ plants of Jatropha from hill regions to extract more bio-oil than the national average.

“After identifying these bio-diesel plants, we have applied to the TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute) for the validation of our claim,” said Zaqwan Ahmed, Director of the laboratory.

“The bio-diesel plant that we are cultivating in Kumaon region contains 36 per cent oil which is more than the bio-diesel plants grown in other parts of India which contain nearly 30-32 per cent of oil. DARL scientists are now working to increase oil content up to 42 per cent,” he said.

The Director said that after successfully extracting oil out of these bio-diesel plants with the help of technology from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), DARL scientists are now working on second and third generation of alternative fuel using various bio-materials like algae.

“We have also gained success in extending the life of the bio-diesel extracted from these plants from six months to one year,” said the Director.

The Director said that the cake which remains after extracting the oil from the bio-diesel plant is also being utilised by the DRDO scientists.

The cake is detoxified and mixed at five per cent ratio with animal seed for small animals. “We are also working to increase this ratio from 5 to 10 per cent,” said the Director.

“We have also successfully mixed 20 per cent bio diesel with fuel in defence vehicles, especially Swaraj Mazda and BMT 2,” said the Director.

According to the Director, DARL is also working on a plant called Siberian mustard (camilina sativa) which contains 38 per cent non-edible oil. “We have plans to grow this bio-diesel plant on seven acres of our land in the laboratory campus of DARL in Pitthoragarh district,” said Dr Zaqwan Ahmad, Director, DARL, Haldwani.

Dehradun, May 6
Girish Tiwari ‘Girda’ is not keeping well. The famous poet, whose writing was an inspiration for Uttarakhand agitators, has developed multiple disorders. The poet of the masses, who is equally acclaimed by Kumaoni and Hindi-knowing people, has lost weight drastically.

Girda a few months ago had a severe heart attack and since then has not been keeping well. The man who shook the erstwhile UP government through his songs during the Uttarakhand movement can be seen going to the doctor on limping legs.

“The poet in his late 60s was taking a breather by a pillar on the roadside at Kailakhan, hardly 1.5 km from Nainital,” said senior journalist Prakash Thapliyal, who happened to come across Girda during his recent visit to Nainital. The meagre amount of pension is hardly sufficient to meet Girda’s medical needs, particularly when his only son is still studying.

Having taken voluntary retirement from instructorship in the Song and Drama Division of the Ministry  of Information and Broadcasting, Girda has dedicated himself for the cause of Uttarakhand. During the Uttarakhand movement, his work was to write poems and recite those at Talli Tal or Malli Tal before a large gathering.

Dehradun, May 6
The reported terror threat call to blow up the Welham Boys School has turned out to be a hoax call made by two of its students, including a rusticated student of the school.

According to police sources, the student who was rusticated from the school, along with a present student of the same school, had threatened the school authorities in rage.

They had also passed on the numbers to their friends to call up the school authorities and threaten them.

The parents of the two students are pleading guilty on behalf of their wards and are trying to sort out the issue amicably.

Police authorities have also directed the parents to tell their wards to apologise to the Principal of the school Dev Lahiri.

The duo had made the call to the school on April 30. The school complained to the police on May 3 in this regard. The Delhi Crime Branch found that the calls were made by one Prem Kumar Agarwal of Sector 29, Noida.

The Dehradun police had also sent a team to the place. Captain Vijay Tewari, bursar of the school, had alleged in the complaint to the police that the caller had threatened to blow up the school and had used filthy language.

Calls of same nature were also received by the Vice-Principal, Dean and HoD of Arts, as per the compliant. A case under Sections 504, 506 of the Indian Penal Code had been registered at the Dalanwala police station. 

Dehradun, May 6
“I was really excited about being promoted to class IV and read new books but my teacher has told me to wait for two-three days. More than one month had passed but we have not received any books from the school authority. Our teachers are teaching us orally and assignments are given to be practised every day,” said Pankaj, a student of the government school situated at the Parade Ground here.

After the absence of a majority of teachers at government school who have been assigned with census task, supplies of no textual books are hampering education at the school. The scenario prevails same at every government school in the capital where students would be found mugging their lessons from the blackboards of the classrooms. The excitement and enthusiasm of learning at schools has been washed away by the administration running the education wing in the state.

Manorama, one of the teachers at the government school, said the school authorities have given the directives of teaching pupils on the basis of competence. We have adapted the methodology of recital of the lessons from teacher’s copy as it was done at Gurukul in the past. Hopefully, children will get their books soon this month.

“One of the siblings of my friend is managing his tasks through the books that I had given to him after getting promoted to class VI. But the rests are still waiting for the books to come. It’s been more than a month, when the students at the government schools have not received their textbooks,” quipped Premlata.

Talking to The Tribune, Geeta Nautiyal, District Education Officer, said: “In my opinion, the beginning of the session doesn’t require lots of textual knowledge and a thorough revision of the previous syllabus is a must. Whereas the delay in the distribution of the text books is due to the delay in placing the orders for books by the administration. We are hopeful of receiving the books within a week or two but till then the schools will have to manage the teaching on the recital method.”

On the other hand, Hemlata Bhatt, Block Education Officer, said: “The books are ready to be dispatched from the publishers and would take another two days to reach the centre.”

Dehradun, May 6
Nidan, an NGO, organised the biggest Doon Education Fair at the Parade Ground here today. The fair will continue till May 9 and more than 100 colleges from Dehradun and outside are participating in it. Their representatives will guide students about various career opportunities.

The fair is being organised with a motive to benefit maximum number of students as well as parents who could come with queries about the latest approach or methodology which is necessary for students to excel in today’s competitive world.

Apart from career, studies, books and colleges, one can also relish delicious food items and watch cultural programmes there.

Raj Kumar, organiser of the fair, said last year also Nidan had organised an education fair to provide assistance to aspirants seeking admissions in their desired colleges and universities. The event wanted to benefit a large number of students in future and they had planned to visit interior regions of Uttarakhand to help those students who were deprived of such opportunities.

Prakash Suman Dhyani, adviser to the Chief Minister, Uttarakhand, was the chief guest. He inaugurated the fair while Subhash Barthwal, vice-president of the State Youth Welfare Society, was also present.

Dehradun, May 6
The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the premier institutions for training future officers of the Army. The Bird Watching and Photography Club has been created as part of the academy curriculum to provide an outlet to additional learning and capability building of Gentleman Cadets.

The primary role of this club is to provide exposure in bird watching and photography to the interested cadets. The club initiates them into the fascinating world of birds and contributes towards creating awareness and love for the nature. The progressive works by the club have been very encouraging.

Bringing out a book titled “Birds of the IMA” during December, 2009, at present the club is attempting to take out the revised edition of the same. Besides learning bird watching skills, club members also learn the techniques of photography. They have participated in various photography competitions held at the Raj Bhawan and given an excellent account of their skills.

The club is also actively involved in the campaign of an NGO, ARCH, aimed at preservation and care of house sparrows. The club members had watched water birds, including migratory birds, during their recent visit to Asan Barrage and clicked them to identify and study.

They visit all silent nook and corners of the IMA and FRI campuses to pursue their hobby and get fascinated by observing and taking photos of these wonderful creations of the nature.

The club started last year only under the mentor, Lieut-Gen RS Sujlana, Commandant, IMA, who gives tremendous support and encouragement to the members of the club. There are already 86 Gentleman Cadets who are inspiring others to take bird watching as hobby.

Dehradun, May 6
After Welham Boys’ School’s winning the 24th Golden Jubilee Basketball Tournament, it was the turn of Welham Girls’ School (Blues) that lifted the fourth Golden Jubilee All-India Basketball Tournament trophy trouncing Modern School, Delhi, 56-29.

Host Welham Girls’ School (Blues) found an easy rival in Modern School, Delhi, in the final encounter. Welham Girls won the quarters 23-6, 32-11, 46-19 and 56-29 with an ease.

Welham Girls displayed a good teamwork and gave good passes, which helped them in the long run. While players of Modern School failed to score baskets on several opportunities it got.

Aishwarya of the winning side was the top scorer with 17 points and Disha with 11 points was the principal scorer for Modern School.

Meanwhile, Siddhima Nigam of Welham Girls’ School (Blues) was adjudged most valuable player of the tournament.

Dehradun, May 6
Services, New Delhi, defeated Haryana Colts by six wickets in the second match of Pool B during the 28th Uttarakhand Gold Cup Cricket Tournament held on the Ranger’s College cricket ground here today.

Haryana Colts batted first after winning the toss. The innings revolved around Mukul Dagar, who played a sensible knock off 109 runs in 103 balls. He hit two sixes and reached the fence nine times.

He remained on the pitch till the last over to lead his team. Prateek Pawar (50) and Kuldeep Hooda (34) were the other principal scorers for the team. Skipper Joginder Sharma got out on three runs.

Ritesh S Negi and Yashpal Singh scalped three wickets each for Services. While Sumit Singh and Rajat Goswami took two wickets each.

Chasing the target, Services didn’t face much resistance from Haryana Colts bowlers and made 255 runs in 30.2 overs for four wickets.

After opener Narendra Singh (3) went early, his partner Sumit Singh (122 off 72) and first down batsman Amit Kumar (83 off 61) led the team.

Sumit smashed five sixes and 14 fours in his century. While Amit hit 10 boundaries and three sixes. For Haryana Colts, Kuldeep Hooda, Ravi Bhola, Ramesh Verma and Amit Dahiya pocketed one wicket each. 

Dehradun, May 6
Vijay Cantt managed to eke out challenge of the Shivalik Club 2-1 to enter the final of the fourth RB Singh Memorial Football Tournament being played on the Pavilion Ground here today.

Sushil Rawat of the Shivalik Club scored the first goal of the match in the 27th minute. Vijay Cantt retaliated in the 38th minute through Madhur brining the score to one each at the end of the first half.

The players of both teams toiled hard in the second half in the hope of getting edge over other with a single goal. It was Vijay Cantt’s Nitin who stole the show netting a field goal in the 46th minute.

All efforts of Shivalik to score a goal proved futile and it lost the hopes of making to final.

While tomorrow in the second semifinals, Gypsy Young and Eleven Star will clash to decide who faces Vijay Cantt for the final win. 

Haridwar, May 6
Though softball is still in the nascent stage in India, particularly in Uttarakhand where sports facilities and infrastructure are still way behind in comparison to other states, the talent and skill shown by the state players augur well for the game. A large number of players from Haridwar district can be seen playing softball and seeing their talent one can easily gauge the flourishing future of the game in the state.

This came to light at the trials of the softball championship to be held in Rishikesh at the end of this week at SBM College sports complex.

After intense competition and assessment of all skill aspects under the watchful eyes of veteran coach PP Chauhan, a 15-member junior squad was selected during the trial.

Special emphasis was given on having excellent pitcher and catcher, while players were selected for special positions like first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, centre fielder and left-right fielder.

Speaking to The Tribune, coach Dr Chauhan said players had immense talent and skills and with right coaching and exposure they definitely had the potential to represent the state and vie for the national team.

The players selected are Sarthak Taneja, Vaibhav Gupta, Devank Sharma, Neeraj Mishra, Avinash Sharma, Nikhil Saini, Dewan Saini, Nikhil Chaturvedi, Mohti Gupta, Vishwa Ahuja, Aryan Modi, Sagar Arora, Divyanand Puri, Shyam Ghimiri and Sagar Verma.

The squad will be leaving tomorrow for Rishikesh.

Dehradun, May 6
Maharana Pratap Sports College (MPS) and host Welham Boys’ School won their respective semifinals to face each other in the final tomorrow during the sixth S Kandhari Memorial Hockey Tournament held at Welham Boys’ School here today.

MPS smashed Doon School 4-0. Ajay Singh scored in the 16th minute through penalty corner. Prabhar scored the next two goals, first in 42nd minute (penalty corner) and the second in 52nd minute (field goal).

Divit Bisht also added to the team’s kitty in the 58th minute. Doon School couldn’t score a goal.

In the other semifinal, Welham Boys’ School had to battle it out hard to beat St George’s College 5-4 in sudden death. Both sides failed to score even a goal in the stipulated time and the match went to penalty shootout in which the teams scored 3-3. After no result could come out in the penalty shootouts, the match was decided through sudden death.

Guru Nanak Academy, Col Brown in final

Registering a one-sided win in the semifinals, host Guru Nanak Academy (GNA) and Col Brown Cambridge School (CBS) stormed into the final of the Inter-Council School Sub-Junior Boys Hockey Tournament here.

In the first semifinal played today, the GNA drubbed Marshall School with a big margin of 6-0. Sarvnam Gautam, Naizil Thapa, Hirdyesh Gangwar and Nihal Kukreti scored in the win of the GNA.

Also, the CBS outplayed Sanskar International School 5-0 in the second semifinal. Rajesh Nagar, Pranjal Gupta, Gautam and Gaurav Deshwal scored for the winning team.

The final will be played tomorrow at 4.30 pm on the GNA ground.

Mussoorie, May 6
Saurabh Tivari, IPL-fame cricketer of the Mumbai Indian team, was on a visit to Mussoorie. He was accompanied by Jharkhand cricket coach and the team participating in the Uttarakhand Gold Cup at Dehradun.

Tivari, along with his friends, visited aquarium, Mall Road and Library Bazar. He also visited the Company Garden.

Tivari said Mussoorie was an immensely beautiful place and he was enjoying his stay here. He also informed that he was here for the Uttarakhand Gold Cup that Jharkhand had won in the past.

The coach of Jharkahnd team said the BCCI-affiliated association was important for the development of the cricket in the state.