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Monsoon Fury
Low-lying areas fear floods
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Grey Areas in DMC working - VI
No separate authority for buses deployed for Kumbh
Queen’s Baton reaches Doon today
Indra Boys defeat Wills Youth 2-1
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Monsoon Fury
Haridwar, July 5 People at the Ranipur Mod, Bhagat Singh Chowk, several inner points of Jwalapur, Subash Nagar, Singh Dwar and Khanna Nagar were seen stranded as the water level was quite high. Many vehicles got stuck in the water and many thought it better to retreat. Sliding of mud was also reported from various parts of the city, specially at the Lal Taura Bridge, Mayapur, Upper Road, Tibdi bypass and Shyampur region. Congress activists have decided to raise the issue of civic infrastructure bowing before initial rains when monsoon has not fully arrived. Municipal Chairman Kamal Johra assured of instant remedial steps to ensure that such a situation didn’t get aggravated in the coming days. However, he failed to answer that in his two-year tenure no change in the situation had occurred with even intermittent rain putting the life out of gear in the pilgrim city. The Maha Kumbh had just concluded with crores of rupees being allotted for a separate sewer line, recarpeting of roads, drains etc. Ward member Ashok Sharma lamented that inner rivalry and factionism within the ruling BJP-led municipality was responsible for lack of civic infrastructure development in the city questioning the role of state Urban Minister Madan Kaushik. He said being a state Urban Development Minister if he couldn’t develop even the city infrastructure, then the condition of rest of districts could easily be gauged. “I live in Khanna Nagar, the home colony of Madan Kaushik, but we don’t feel any change since he became the Urban Minister from being a normal legislator. Electricity cuts, accumulation of rain water, potholes on roads and encroachments are some of the basic issues that need to be addressed before people come on to streets,” remarked SK Sinha, a resident.
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Low-lying areas fear floods
Nainital, July 5 The administration on the other hand claims to be fully prepared to deal with any eventuality amidst doubts about effective contingency plans for the region. The showers of Sunday that continued till Monday have exposed the claims of the civic authorities in major towns like Haldwani and Ramnagar. People in these areas have complained of choking of drains, water logging at several places along with silt hampering the supply of potable drinking water. The Director of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) at Dehradun, Dr Anand Sharma, said monsoon had reached the state of Utttarakhand. He further said it was the convergence of an already moving western disturbance and the monsoon coming from the east that led to the region having moderate-to-heavy rainfall. The rainfall recorded till 8 am was moderate and the showers had continued till the late afternoon. Chorgaliya, Khatima and Sitarganj villages of the region fear flooding of the seasonal rivers that flow through these areas. In Chorgaliya, villagers complain about the administration turning a blind eye to the demolition of a protection wall erected on Devaha diversion. Sources disclosed that while the threat of flooding of Gaula and Nandhaur rivers in the region had been minimised on account of proper mining, it was the other seasonal rivers that had been experiencing accumulation of silt that were threatening to flood. Officials on the other hand are claiming that
appropriate preventive actions have been taken. The spokespersons of Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts told The Tribune that major de-silting exercises had been carried out in the seasonal streams under the NREGA programme. Bori bunds had also been made on the banks of these rivers. It was further stated that control rooms had been set up at the tehsil levels and officials in the other departments concerned had been asked to promptly respond to any distress call. Dehradun: Monsoon has hit Uttarakhand. After reports of touching the Pithoragarh region of Uttarakhand yesterday, the Dehradun Meteorological Office here today declared the arrival of monsoon in the state. “Monsoon covered the entire Uttarakhand today,” disclosed Dr Anand Sharma, Director, Meteorological Centre, Dehradun. He said widespread rains had been reported from all across the state. Dehradun, Haridwar and other districts are experiencing moderate-to-heavy rains. Weathermen predict continuous rains for the next 48 hours in the state. In capital Dehradun, people woke up to rainy morning. Rains continued for most part of the day and it was after noon hours that there was an improvement in the weather conditions. On the other hand, Doonites breathed a sigh of relief due to the rains. However, Met officials here said the situation would become clearer by next week about the magnitude of monsoon expected in Uttarakhand.
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Grey Areas in DMC working - VI
Dehradun, July 5 Leave alone the smaller ones, the main and the biggest public park of the city, Gandhi Park, which receives maximum number of footfall matches everyday is ruefully managed. The entire length and breadth of the park narrates the sad story of utter negligence. The grass is growing unevenly, while some patches go without a single blade of glass. Shrubs have mushroomed here and there. Trees go without pruning. There is hardly any symmetry in greenery here, not to talk about how creatively trees/shrubs are shaped into figures and forms in parks these days. Benches too have been installed minus any shade, without caring about the fluctuations of weather. There are a few lucky ones which get shade from the trees. This is why most people can be seen sitting not on benches, but on the grass under the trees during the long spell of summer season. Fountains are there to be beheld as these have not been working for so many years due to paucity of water. The scarcity of water is the reason the grass too has receded from many places. The DMC’s failed bid to install a tube well was ridiculed by the media as it wasted Rs 9 lakh without really checking it from experts if there was any ground water at that spot. Move a little ahead and one sees the rusted furniture and hand carts lying all around the small rooms made for storing gardening paraphernalia at two places in the park. Gardener Vinod Kumar said the rusted material had been lying there for the past five years and got damaged in the process of waiting for the auction to be carried by the DMC. Children’s park has not been spared either. Most of the swings and rides are broken or missing. The entire zone is full of potholes filled with rainy water. The toilets are equally pathetic, cry out for water and sanitation. Despite all these shortcomings, people have no choice but to come here to seek some solace and whatever greenery the place has to offer. Beena Pokhriyal, who came with her children, said, “The authorities should manage such a place where families come with their children to relax and socialise. Children too do not have other options for recreation in the city”. Without going into details of replying about the DMC’s negligence, Vinod Chamoli, Mayor, said a project worth Rs 25 lakh was already in the pipeline to revamp the condition of the park whereby new walkways, a kids’ zone replete with new swings, fountains and a proper water supply system would be built up in less than a year.
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No separate authority for buses deployed for Kumbh
Dehradun, July 5 The set of 60 buses had arrived last year in November-December and were to be deployed on city routes, but midway a need was felt to deploy the buses for the Kumbh Mela and since then the buses meant for Dehradun continue to be misused. The set of white-coloured big and small buses with the logo of JNNURM operated by the roadways have not been put to use for which these were intended. “According to the JNNURM guidelines, a separate authority has to be created and by next month we hope to make a headway in this direction,” said Surinder Singh
Rawat, MD, Roadways. The corporation would undertake the maintenance of the buses and the total cost of the JNNURM project. In all, 145 buses were sanctioned for Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital under the JNNURM. Under the scheme launched by the Ministry of Urban Development, a total of 15,260 buses had been approved for 61 JNNURM cities. In Uttarakhand, the Central government was providing assistance to the tune of Rs 27 crore. “The 60 buses for both Dehradun and Haridwar and 25 for Nainital had arrived in November. But in view of the Kumbh
mela, the Dehradun’s share of 60 buses too were sent to Haridwar. Now, these buses are operating between Mussoorie and
Haridwar,” said Deepak Jain, Deputy General Manager, Uttarakhand Transport Corporation. Thirty big and 30 small low-floor buses manufactured as per the international guidelines and designed keeping in mind the requirement of disabled and geriatric population cost Rs 27 crore.
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Queen’s Baton reaches Doon today
Dehradun, July 5 These banners will be put to use tomorrow during the run. Society’s Rutu Chatterjee and Bharat Sharma today enlightened these schoolchildren on pollution, its causes and its effect on the ecology. They were told that every single person, by doing their bit and changing their lifestyles, could
contribute to save the environment. Children participated in the activity of banner preprations with great zeal and prepared slogans and banners by filling the colours of their imagination. The Friends of the Doon Society (FODS) in collaboration with the Centre For Environment Education (CEE) is “Creating Young Green Champions to link with the Commonwealth Games 2010” with the help of Global Environment Facilities (GEF) under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Under this programme, 1,000 students from 25 schools, colleges and other institutions from across the India are being
prepared to act as young environment ambassadors with a special focus on the low carbon lifestyles. Apart from running along Common Wealth Game’s Queen’s Baton, these
children will also participate in the tree plantation programme in different selected locations of
Dehradun.
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Exhibition Train Express
Haridwar, July 5 The platform number 9 of the city railway station, where the express box is stationed, is thronged by people in large numbers. So from history of commonwealth to organising venues there is every bit of information regarding the commonwealth games and related aspects. With India fast making a name in information technology too the Express is also portraying the development stride taken in the IT field and telecommunication sector. The real motive of the express is to make aware people of the Commonwealth Games that are scheduled to be held in New Delhi from October 3 this year as well as making people know of the strength of information technology in our day-to-day life. Notably, Haridwar has been selected as the only station coming under Moradabad railway division and after its three-day stay the express will be leaving for Lucknow on night of July 7 and the exhibition is open for all from 9 am till 8 pm. Earlier the Express was inaugurated by DRM Ramesh Chandra Sharma terming it as a knowledge Express that is just a step to showcase the immense leap India is taking in the field of information technology and sports arena. In view of this special sporting event Express on wheel, special arrangements are put up at the railway station with special emphasis on publicising the event as the very motive of this express lies in as many people seeing the sporting event express on wheels. “This is quite fascinating as I had witnessed in my schooling days such a train that was exhibiting science demonstration but this is quite different one showcasing the Commonwealth Games and IT which symbolise the leap our country has taken,” remarked Shikha Ohri, a web designer.
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Yoga bringing India, South Korea closer
Haridwar, July 5 This fact can be testified by the number of Koreans visiting the twin cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh, which are the hub of yoga in India. So here, from basic learners to PhD in yoga, one can find Koreans getting well versed in yoga. At Dev Sanskriti University (DSU), Korean students are doing graduation, post graduation, diploma and even PhD in this Indian art. Da Som Her, who is pursuing yoga at the PG level in the university, explains the new-found love among her countrymen. “Yoga seems to have forged a new relationship between the two countries. Earlier, India was a land of spices, saints, elephants and the Taj Mahal, but now most of Koreans know that India is the hub of yoga and information technology. Yoga has revolutionised our lives spiritually, mentally, physically and philosophically, changing the way we used to think and live,” said Som Her, who has adopted her Indian name Nirmala. Surprisingly Da Som’s mother is also learning yoga in the university and both are well versed in the Hindi language too. The bonding seems to be growing, with more Koreans taking interest in taking regular admission in yoga in universities and yoga imparting centres in India. Dr Ram Mahesh Mishra, Joint Director of Publicity, Shantikunj, says we are getting a lot of admission-seeking calls, apart from a regular brief stay from this part of world. “They are quite impressed with the benefits of yoga in health terms and also the way they find themselves in terms of spirituality and moralit. Exchange programmes with Korean universities are also a future possibility, considering the yoga-love in this nation,” said Mishra. South Koreans are also impressed by India’s stride in the sporting arena and hope that the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi become a major success. They relate Seoul’s successful hosting of the Summer Olympics in 1988 as a prime example after which their country took a long stride in the sporting field and as a result in the last Olympics, South Korea won a whopping 13 Olympic gold medals, coming seventh in the overall tally. These yoga-acharyas are not happy when it comes to the war-tension between neighbouring countries, whether it be South-North Korea or India-Pakistan, pointing that the world needs peace, otherwise the sole purpose of humanity of living with mutual love gets extinct. “Korea has seen many intrusions, be it of Mongolians, Japanese, the US or the civil war within, but war has only brought losses, inflicted deep wounds that don’t erase easily, but also affect generations,” remarked Chung So Young, who is nearing completion of his PhD from DSU.
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30 teachers take part in Youth Parliament contest
Dehradun, July 5 The programme was organised on the occasion of the 23rd National Youth Parliamentary competition. The competition on the Rashtriya Yuva Sansad Karyakram was also conducted, where 30 teachers of different units of Kendriya Vidyalaya have participated. Many teachers and principals of the school attended the programme. Dignitaries and intellectuals were welcomed amid chanting of Vedic mantras. Chief guest on the occasion was Baijnath, Managing Director, ONGC, who initiated the programme by lighting the lamp. The orientation was organised with a vision of holistic assessment of a learner, which also includes co-scholastic area of life skills, attitudes and values, sports and games as well as co-curricular activities of a student. R Kalawati, Assistant Commissioner (Education), Jagdish Mohan Rawat, Dr Anshu Sharma, RC Mohanty, NS Rana, Dr Inderjit and many others were also present on the occasion.
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Sunderwala Boys beat Doon United Club
Dehradun, July 5 But this prompted Sunderwala Boys to counter attack, it was in the 38th minute of the game when Himanshu scored a goal to tally the score. The Doon United players could not sustain the attack as aggressive Sunderwala Boys scored their second goal in the 47th minute. In the second match, Western Boys drew their game against B Milan. Both the teams were tied goalless.
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Indra Boys defeat Wills Youth 2-1
Dehradun, July 5 It was only in the 43rd minute that Indra Prashant from Indra Boys scored the first goal. But soon in the 48th minute, Sagar from Wills Youth equalised by a field goal. However, Gaurav of Indra Boys scored another goal to pave the way for the win of his team in the
59th minute. In the second match, Eleven Star beat Khukhri Eleven by 3-2. It was Khukhri Boys who took an early lead through a goal by Rohit in the 7th minute. Eleven Star Boys fought hard to equalise, but they got their chance in the 50th minute when DS Negi equalised. Later, mounting pressure, Saurab scored another goal in the 55th minute to give a lead to his team. However, it was shortlived as Ishan from Khukhri Eleven scored in the 65 minute to equalise. But finally, Akshay of Eleven Star scored the third goal of his team in the 68th minute to seal the fate of the match in favour of his team. The Pacchwa Doon team will meet the Uttarakhand Police, while Doon Valley will play Khalanga Boys in tomorrow’s encounters.
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