Haridwar, June 30
A self-immolation attempt by Haridwar district chief of the Gau Raksha Committee Charanjit Pahwa left the city shocked today. The suicide attempt by Pahwa sent shivers down the district administration and the local people who were present at Ranipur Mod, the busiest intersection in new Haridwar.

Pahwa had announced a few days ago that he would be committing suicide in protest against illegal mutton shops operating at suburban Jwalapur. As was expected, a huge deployment of police personnel was seen at the intersection besides mediapersons present in large numbers to cover the incident. The police had cordoned off nearby intersections so that Pahwa could be nabbed before he reached the spot.

After waiting for half an hour when most thought that it might have been a publicity stunt, suddenly a speeding motor bike emerged from an inner lane carrying Pahwa whose face was covered with a stole. He was accompanied by his wife and four-year-old child.

As soon as he reached the main intersection, the police personnel stopped him and nabbed him before he could put kerosene on himself. There was a panic with public thinking Pahwa to be a criminal.

With news of the incident spreading in the city, hundreds of people thronged the spot and there was a massive traffic jam, which almost took half an hour to be cleared.

City Magistrate Archana Grehawar, Circle Officer Pankaj Bhatt, SHO of the Jwalapur police station and nearby police station police officers were present at the spot to monitor the 
whole situation.

A few weeks back, members of the Gau Raksha Samiti, led by Pahwa, had met several district administration officials, including District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram, regarding unlicensed mutton shops of Jawalapur. They said the open sale of mutton there hurt sentiments of people in this world-renowned pilgrim city.

Speaking to The Tribune, Pahwa said umpteen number of times the administration had been informed about those illegal mutton shops that had mushroomed in the Jwalapur area, but as no action was taken he decided to take the extreme step.

“Hundreds of animals are being slaughtered daily and for the past eight years we have been trying to bring to administration’s notice this issue. But, nothing concrete has been done. It seems no one cares about the pilgrim heritage of Haridwar,” remarked Pahwa as he was taken forcefully from the Ranipur Mod in a police vehicle to the Jwalapur police station.

He further added that the administration was playing into hands of the mutton mafia and the police instead of arresting illegal traders was gagging the protesters.

Notably, in Jwalapur only four mutton shops have been issued licences while almost more than 48 shops have cropped up illegally. CO (City) Pankaj Bhatt said the situation was under control and the police would undergo a checking drive against the illegal vendors. A case has been registered under Section 309, IPC, at the Jwalapur police station.

Meanwhile, mixed reactions have come up from various sections of society with Hindu organisations strongly condemning the administration for not taking any action against the illegal shop owners, forcing Pahwa to attempt self-immolation.

Activists of the Bajrang Dal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Gau Raksha Committee laid a siege to the Jwalapur police station where Pahwa was taken into custody. They waned the officials concerned of taking to the streets over the issue. “If no clear action is taken by the administration, they should know that today there was only one Pahwa to stop, but how will they stop hundreds of us,” said Surendra Saini, a Gau Raksha Committee activist.

Dehradun, June 30
City’s young boy Jatin Gulati who was posted as a CRPF Assistant Commandant in Chhattisgarh was among the 26 CRPF personnel who were killed by Naxalites in a remote area of Narayanpur district in that state yesterday.

A pal of gloom descended on his Karanpur-situated house in Dehradun. Friends and relatives gathered at the house. The body of Jatin (25) is expected to reach his house by tomorrow morning.

He did his schooling from Brightland School and BSc from DAV (PG) College, Dehradun. Later, he joined the Border Security Force (BSF) in 2004, but the zeal in him to surge ahead in profession didn’t let him contended with this only.

He rose on to become an Assistant Commandant with the CRPF by clearing UPSC CPF examination in 2006. The young officer had just completed his training in 2010.

The father of Jatin runs a ready-made shop at the Karanpur market while his mother is a housewife. His only sister has already been married.

Speaking to reporters, Jatin’s mother said the government should take a concrete step against the problem of Naxalism otherwise it would continue to trouble the country. The sacrifice of the CRPF jawans would certainly boost the morale of the force, she added.

“He will be remembered for laying down is life for the country. He was a brave boy and never feared anything,” said a friend of the officer.

Dehradun, June 30
Deepa, BJP councillor, was seen cribbing about having to pay Rs 8,000 to a private agency to dispose of a dead dog in her ward today. She complained of inefficiency on the part of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) as it had failed to carry out its responsibility to remove dead animals for more than one year. She said all councillors had got tired of complaining to the Senior Health Officer, Dr Gurpal Singh, but he seemed nonchalant about taking any action in this regard.

Dr Singh in turn put the blame on the contractor who took the contract, but did not make the full payment because of which the matter hung in the balance. He said: “For years, we had been giving the annual contract to register contractors to the tune of Rs 2-3 lakh to dispose of dead animals. They too were making good money as they charged from complainants also, and made additional profit by selling the skin and bones of the dead animals”.

Meanwhile, the competition among these contractors increased, and so did the prices of leather products which shot up the contract rates and it ended at Rs 9 lakh in 2008. But, after having paid some amount, the contractor who was awarded the contract denied to deposit the RC (registration certificate) amount and the rest of the amount. The matter has been hanging fire since then, as when we asked for a fresh bid, all registered contractors refused”.

The contractor in question, Nizamuddin, denied this allegation saying that he had been doing the business of disposing of dead animals with the DMC for the past 25 years and had earned a good reputation for it. He did pay Rs 2,20 lakh as initial deposit and was ready to pay the rest of the amount, but MC officials pressed him to pay the whole amount even before the term of the contract expired. “I also got my hands burnt in the deal as when I was away to Delhi for two months for my wife’s treatment, many unauthorised people disposed of dead animals,” he said. Despite the acrimony between both sides, Nizamuddin still talked of being prepared for the next auction.

His claim has not found favours with even Congress councillors. Ganesh Dangwal, Congress councillor, said: “There are only four-five contractors registered with the District Magistrate who have been unduly benefiting from their monopoly for this task, because of which when the case of Nizamuddin fell through. And the rest of them refused to make the bid for the fresh tenders and matter got buried there only”.

Dangwal said he had made the suggestion to seek a way out of this deadlock before Dr Singh. “The Health Department should open a contract system where any individual who is willing to remove the dead animals can claim money for the task, or the DMC should create its own committee and entrust the task to it. I made the suggestion to get rid of domination of the contractor system. But, sadly nothing has moved an inch for the past one year”.

Dr Singh has been held responsible for not being sincere in his capacity due to which city people are under constraint to pay hefty fees to private people to get rid of dead animals to ward off the unbearable stench and sight in their areas.

Dehradun, June 30
With a motive to spread awareness among teachers and parents having high expectation from students and to understand the repercussions of it, the Yogshakti Educational Society working for the overall development of children and women conducted a summer camp, which concluded here today.

The summer camp was based on the Montessori learning methodology and yogic philosophy.

The organiser of the camp and Director of Montessori School Suman Bhatia discussed the problems faced by toddlers in today’s scenario. She highlighted the working method of the school, which would be organised to develop their artistic skills, and cure inhibitions related to speech, shyness, confidence, memory loss, life skills, academics and many such others.

“In today’s scenario, various opportunities and exposure are being imparted to the school-going kids to become future achievers, but somehow they are suffering due to lack of support, work pressure and burden of high expectations to score well in academics. In such a condition, the student finds it difficult to cope under constant pressure, which in return hampers their mental and physical growth,” said Suman.

“We want to enlighten children on the efficiency of the Montessori philosophy and the usage of Montessori equipment in enhancing the skills and IQ level of the children. Our teaching method is based on self-learning process, demonstration and life skills,” she asserted.

Singing, dancing and teaching through Montessori equipments, audio and visuals, were the part of the summer camp. About 20 students participated enthusiastically at the camp and benefited by an innovative teaching and learning method.

Dr Pawan Saini, clinical psychologist, working with the Yogshakti Educational Society, differentiated between the regular and Montessori teaching methods. He said the Montessori philosophy taught children between the age of 2 years to 6 years with modern equipment of audio-visual and regular objects from day-to-day life.

“Montessori schooling has a flexible curriculum that allows the child to learn at his own pace. The Montessori philosophy follows the theory of self-education through self-correcting materials offering a child-centered learning environment. Through this method, the Montessori trained teacher recognises sensitive periods in each child through play materials for non-specific skills as well as using multi-sensory materials for developing specific skills,” asserted Dr Saini, former practitioner at Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.

Dehradun, June 30
Manurbhav School celebrated its annual function with a great enthusiasm and gusto here today. Amid guests and parents, students presented a colourful cultural programme during the function.

Manurbhav is an organisation that has been working for the past two years for underprivileged kids residing in slums of Bindal. The regular classes of the school are being run at Omkar Plaza, near the residence of the slum dwellers.

The function initiated with the lighting of the lamp by chief guest Savita Kapoor, state president of the Bharat Vikas Parishad, followed by a prayer sung by the students.

However, to motivate the students, the eminent guests distributed sweets, school uniforms and shoes among them. The programme concluded with the vote of thanks by Giribala Juyal, president of Manurbhav. She thanked the chief guest and audience for sparing their valuable time. She also thanked the staff members who guide the tender one’s in their day-to-day activities.

The eminent guests present on the occasion were Uttarakhand Jan Sena centre secretary Ajay Verma, councillor Rama Gaur, Lions Club Doon Valley regional chairman GK Gaur, former president of Manurbhav Rajev jain, president of Asra Trust Shaila Brijnath, and patron of the organisation Dr Madhu Sharma.

Dehradun, June 30
Maharashtra swept the 5th Senior and 3rd Junior and Sub-Junior National Kickboxing Championship emerging as the overall champion here today at the GRD Academy, Rajpur.

The state won three gold, six silver and three bronze medals to bag the first place in the senior category. Delhi with two gold and four silvers was at the second place. While Uttar Pradesh stood third, winning two gold and bronze medals each.

In the below-75 kg event, Rohit got gold for Maharashtra and Parveen and Sushil got silver and bronze, respectively, for the winning team.

Also in junior/sub-junior category, Maharashtra bagged top honours with 20 gold, 10 silver and 13 bronze medals. Chandigarh and Rajasthan got the second and third place, respectively. Chandigarh took 10 gold, two silver and one bronze medals, while Rajasthan got one gold, nine silver and six bronze medals.

The host Uttarakhand that had shown some good performances yesterday failed to win any of the top three slots in any of the category. The championship was organised by Uttarakhand’s Three Style Martial Art Association.

Nainital, June 30
Preparations are on to receive the Queen’s Baton Relay, scheduled to reach the Lake City on July 7. A detailed plan was chalked out for the day at a meeting held under District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli on Tuesday in which representatives of the Municipal Council, Hotel Association and Vyapar Mandal participated.

It was disclosed that the relay would reach Kailakhan by a chopper and then move to the Nainital Club. It was decided that the relay would be received with traditional grandeur at the Tallital Bus Stand where folk artistes would present the Chholiya Dance.

The relay would then move to the District Sports Association (DSA) grounds via Mallital Bazar. Prominent sportspersons from across the region would be invited at the venue.

It was decided that schoolchildren would cheer the relay as it moved through the Mall Road and a band would accompany these children. A human chain would be formed by citizens at the DSA where there would also be a physical training display.

This would be followed by a cultural evening at the Chalet Hall. The Queen's Baton Relay is similar to the Olympic Torch Relay. It is a relay held around the world prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The relay traditionally begins at the Buckingham Palace in London as a part of the city's Commonwealth Day festivities.

The Queen entrusts the baton to the first relay runner.

At the opening ceremony of the games, the final relay runner hands the baton back to the Queen or her representative, who reads the message aloud to officially declare the games open.

Having crossed the border from Pakistan last week, the baton is set to cover 28 states and seven union territories of India, travelling a distance of over 20,000 km, before finally reaching New Delhi on September 30.

The national Capital is set to host the Commonwealth Games from October 3 to 14. It will be the biggest sporting extravaganza to be held in India after 192 Asiad.

The baton for the 2010 Games was launched by Queen Elizabeth II from the Buckingham Palace in London on October 29 last year in the presence of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

India's only gold medallist at the Beijing Olympics, shooter Abhinav Bindra, was the first baton-bearer of the longest relay for any Commonwealth Games.

Dehradun, June 30
Sports Hostel posted 2-0 win over the Bajrang Club in a league match of the District Football League at the Police Lines here today.

Sumit (25th) and Pankaj (45th) scored a goal each in the win of Sports Hostel. In the second match, the Yankies Club got the better of the Pachwadon Club 2-0. Anil (50th) and Piyush (60th) scored a goal each in the second half.

The first half went barren with both sides giving tough fight, but the scenario entirely changed in the next half. Meanwhile, the Willis Youth Club will meet the Khukhri Club tomorrow and Vijay Cantt will face Doon Eagle.

Dehradun, June 30
The DMK was routed by BC Milan 5-0 in a league match of the Lala Nemi Dass Dehradun Football League underway on Pavilion Ground here today. Both Ankur and Abhinav Negi shone in the win scoring a brace each to down rival DMK.

The BC Milan started building pressure from the very beginning of the game. It got its first success as early as in the fifth minute of the play. Ankur scored this goal to open his side’s account.

Arya (20th) netted the next one to lead BC Milan 2-0 and end the first half on this score as no other goal came in the half. While in the second half, Abhinav Negi of the winning side showed his colours netting two goals in the 40th and 65th minutes.

Ankur also netted his second goal in the 52nd minute. There was no retaliation from opponent DMK as it seemed no match for BC Milan. Tomorrow, Gorkha Heroes and Western Boys will play the match.

Dehradun, June 30
Thakurpur (Zone-2 Team-A) rained five goals over the Willis Youth Club (Zone-11) to knock it out of the Grassroots Sport Foundation Promotional Football Tournament held on the Pavilion Ground here today.

The Zone-11 failed to score even a single goal throughout the match. For Thakurpur, Sagar contributed mainly with three back-to-back goals.

He completed his hat-trick netting a goal each in the 34th, 35th and 38th minutes of the game to the surprise his rival team. Shubham had opened the account of the winning team in the ninth minute. While Akash had scored the second goal.

The players of the Willis Club also played well, but couldn’t make full use of the opportunity it got unlike their opponents. The former suffered four goals in the first half and only one in the next.

In the second half, the players showed good teamwork and got their act together to avoid several goal attacks made by strikers of Thakurpur.

In the second match played today, Gaziwala (Zone-6) defeated Survey of India (Zone-9) in the tie-breaker 4-3.

Both the sides scored a goal each in the stipulated time. For Zone-9, Mukul Gurung scored and for Zone-6 Ramesh netted a goal. For the winning team, Ramesh, Deepak and Santosh converted each in the tie-breaker round.