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Kanwar Yatra 2010 proves a trend-setter
Mass hysteria grips Bhimtal
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Almora MP opposes renaming of polytechnic
St Joseph’s Academy launches website
St Jude’s creative fest begins
Basketball calendar released
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Kanwar Yatra 2010 proves a trend-setter
Haridwar, August 9 While the Maha Kumbh continued for four months, the Kanwar mela started on August 26 and concluded on August 8 and was termed as the most successful Kanwar fair since the early 90s when the Haridwar Kanwar yatra witnessed participation on a large scale. Here is a brief synopsis of the two-month
yatra.
Highways not closed to normal traffic
Highways leading to Haridwar earlier used to be totally closed for heavy vehicles during the yatra but this time it wasn’t necessitated, thanks to a well laid out strategy devised by the administration and the police to regulate the devotee rush. It brought a huge relief to the people though in later stages due to the rise in the number of Dak Kanwars, highway restrictions had to be implemented.
Celebrity quotient missing
While the Maha Kumbh saw a large number of celebrities, Bollywood actors, politicians, page 3 socialites, big names eluded the Kanwar yatra. Another reason for not many celebrities coming to the city for the Kanwar fair is that it has not still caught up with higher class of society and most of the prominent saints on whose call celebrities came had left the Kumbh city. So there was certainly a little bit of void in this aspect. However, Olympic bronze medal winner Vijendra Singh’s father had come as a Kanwariya and speculations were rife that this time too he might have gone unrecognised by
mediapersons.
Minor mishaps
The name of the Kanwar yatra fills one with the fear of violence, chaos, highway jams and accidents. In the past few years these incidents had been a routine during the yatra, to the horror of the common man. But, this time owing to special policing and steps taken by the district administration there was a drastic decrease in the number of such incidents. This time whenever any situation or confrontation with the Kanwariyas seemed to be cropping up, senior administrative and police officers reached the spot instantly to defuse the situation. So, this was the Kanwar yatra having the least number of violent incidents, thanks to the restraint shown by the mela police.
Dist police holds community kitchen
On the lines of the Maha Kumbh, a community kitchen (bhandara) was organised by the district police administration. Police personnel, administrative officials and localites were seen a relaxed and happy lot after the two-week long Kanwar fair. Though a majority of police personnel had left for their home districts prior to the bhandara, those who were still in the city shared their experience of the record-breaking Kanwar yatra of this monsoon. Record number of devotees fetch Ganga water
Haridwar’s Kanwar yatra is believed to be the biggest religious procession in the North India and this time it went beyond the expectations as it witnessed an all-time record number of Kanwariyas thronging the district. As per the administrative data, a whopping 1.2 crore Kanwariyas visited Haridwar surpassing the last year’s record of 8 million. The record making seems to be becoming feature of any religious event being organised in the Kumbh city. During the Kumbh too about 6 crore people thronged the city to take part in the Maha Kumbh proceedings while on the April 14 Shahi Snaan, 1.63 crore people took a holy dip in the Ganga in the city.
A first in the yatra
For the first time, Kanwariyas treaded on a special Kanwar stretch called Kanwar Patri, spanning from Haridwar city up to Mangalore-Narsain, the border of Uttarakhand. This was a big decision by the administration, which paid dividends as Kanwar yatra went on smoothly on this stretch even as normal traffic and city life wasn’t affected at all. Millions of Kanwariyas treaded the Kanwar route.
Women, child Kanwariyas
Children dressed as Kanwariyas and Lord Shiva were seen in large numbers drawing people’s attention. While many accompanied their parents, a few were seen coming in groups. Women too were seen treading with their husbands shoulder to shoulder, giving this Kanwar yatra a different touch.
Innovative tableaux This year’s Kanwar fair will also be remembered for unique decorated tableaux with Kanwars brought by devotees for fetching the holy Ganga water. This time huge replicas of temples, statues of deities and colourful tableaux gave the yatra a kaleidoscopic perspective. It seemed there was a competition among Kanwariyas in presenting the best and attractive Kanwar this season.
The onus of providing security blanket during the Kanwar mela was put on specially formed mela police, comprising state police personnel from all 13 districts and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and elite commandos from the state police unit. More than 10,000 police personnel manned the entire Kanwar yatra route besides guiding the Kanwariyas to the right path. A bomb disposal squad, sniffer dogs, mounted police squad and intelligence wing personnel attired as Kanwariyas helped in peaceful completion of the Kanwar yatra. Mela police in charge Pasbola said it was a tough time for the mela to manage such a huge rush of devotees but also a learning experience which would come handy in future. Despite long duty hours and humid conditions, mela police personnel kept their cool and did their duty almost with perfection. Around 10,000 police personnel effectively managed many times more rush of 1.2 crore Kanwariyas. Really, the mela police performed incredibly well and surely deserves accolades for their magnificent role in a peaceful conduct of the yatra.
Huge rush at city temples
A huge rush was witnessed at all Lord Shiva temples in the city on August 8 and 9 when lakhs of devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga and then offered the holy water at their respective Lord Shiva temples, particularly at Daksh Maha Dev, Bilkeshwar and other city temples.
Elaborate arrangements were in place by temple committees and the administration on Shiv Chaudash - the Shivratri of this Saawan season.
Kanwar Bazar
Like in the Maha Kumbh, where specific mela area earmarked, the Pantdeep area was allotted for the Kanwar mela material shops, which proved a big success. More than 400-odd shops catered to the needs of the Kanwariyas at the
bazar. Earlier, the administration was thinking of shifting the venue from Pantdeep to the Bairagi camp but due to the opposition from various sections of society, particularly traders, the administration reverted back to the Pantdeep mela land. The mela area had remained filled with Kanwariyas round the clock since July 26. Traders make huge profits
Kumbh city traders would never have it so good. After making huge profits during the Maha Kumbh tenure, they got another chance just after three months to make a kill, this time in the Kanwar fair. Just imagine. Only in the neck scarf (angocha), a business of over Rs 800 crore was done, as per traders’ analysis. The Kanwariyas bought things ranging from food items to dress materials from city traders. — Tribune photos: Rameshwar Gaur
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Mass hysteria grips Bhimtal
Nainital, August 9 According to information, for the past several days, there have been instances of girls at Nain Singh Mehra Government Inter College at Amian village becoming unconscious. Incidentally, all victims are from Class XII. According to Principal of the school Urvadutt Bhatt, on August 6, a student, after losing consciousness, had blabbered certain incoherent words that has further strengthened the belief of the villagers that there is an occult phenomenon at work in the school. The girl had demanded certain articles in black colour which the villagers are preparing to give to her on Wednesday. Ironically, instead of taking the help of doctors who have termed the phenomenon as mass hysteria, the villagers are reportedly making preparations to appease the unknown spirit which they think is causing the girls to lose consciousness. Villagers are sending their daughters to school after smearing their foreheads with ash. Earlier instances
This is not the first time that such a phenomenon has been recorded in the region. Such events are recorded at regular intervals. In February, girls at an inter college in Patkot, a village located 22 km away from Ramnagar, had been losing consciousness en masse for more than a week. A group of girls studying between class IX and XII were falling victim to a strange phenomenon wherein a girl would start having convulsions for a few minutes and the same would spread to other girls as well. Panicky guardians of the students, all of whom were from a rural background, had attributed the behaviour of the girls to the will of local deities. They had gone ahead with calling godmen to the school who went around preaching occult remedies like putting ‘tilaks’ of different things on the foreheads of the girls. The happenings had subsided automatically after a few days. In November, a school in the Bajuniya Haldu area of Kaladhungi block had shot into the limelight for being a venue of a similar phenomenon. On two different occasions, scores of girls studying in the Government Inter College had fallen unconscious simultaneously. Concerned at the development, the authorities had called for a medical examination of students at the institution. Just when a two-member team from the Kotabagh Community Centre had arrived at the school to conduct tests on the students, another 12 girls had became unconsciousness. The doctors had requested the parents to keep a watch on their wards and record their activities. No such complaints were received again from the school.
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Almora MP opposes renaming of polytechnic
Nainital, August 9 Tamta has opposed the move of the Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank-led government to change the name of the Late General BC Joshi Grameen Polytechnic, Takula, to late Shri Shoban Singh Jeena Polytechnic, Takula, that falls in his parliamentary constituency. In a letter addressed to Alva, he has written, “As you are aware, late Gen BC Joshi, former Chief of Army Staff, was a great son of the soil, who made an enormous contribution to the nation. He hailed from Uttarakhand, and in particular, from my parliamentary constituency. Even today, he is widely respected across the state for all that he did for the country and for our region”. Tamta goes on to underline that as far as late Shoban Singh Jeena is concerned, he too has made a great contribution to society, politically and socially and also hailed from Almora. “He is very well respected. However, it will not be appropriate politically to change the already existing name of the polytechnic,” mentions the letter. Tamta has gone on to allege, “The move to change the name is clearly a political move. We should not be giving political colour to an institution of such national importance. In addition to being unethical, this move has created great resentment in the public at large and more so with the large section of serving and ex-servicemen who hail from the region and consider Gen Joshi to be a non-political inspirational figure for them”. He has asked the Governor to intervene in this “very sensitive matter” and direct the Uttarakhand government to refrain from the exercise. The BJP is trying to play up the centenary year of Jeena in a big way. Earlier this week, Nishank, during a visit to Almora, had announced that a statue of Jeena would be erected in his native village Sanauli.
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St Joseph’s Academy launches website
Dehradun, August 9 Brother AJ George, Principal of St Joseph’s Academy, launched the website in the presence of Ambuj Oberoi, President, SJA Alumni Association, secretary and other office-bearers. The website has the features like online registration, individual passwords for members, members’ blog, information on activities and upcoming projects. “An urgent need was felt to share information with each other across the world. The official website is the perfect forum to achieve this purpose and it shall become a driver for all endeavours of the association and a forum for interaction among Josephites,” said Ambuj Oberoi. St Joseph’s Academy Alumni Association has announced that it would organise several initiatives soon including blood donation, eye-screening programme for children, tree plantation and traffic rules awareness programme for children.
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National seminar on renewable energy held
Dehradun, August 9 Graphic Era University (GEU) held a national seminar on renewable energy and its significance on humanity where delegates and experts from various walks of life participated. The experts rendered information on the Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) hydrogen hybrid technology and the schemes for the utilisation of solar, wind and renewable energies, which can attain success in the developing state like Uttarakhand. The seminar was conducted to promote the technique for the consumption and utilisation of the energies for the development of the state as well as opening avenues of the employment. Vijender Pal, Chief Secretary, state Renewable Energy, chaired the seminar while the chief guest was Rajender Singh Bhandari. Students of electrical and electronic trade of the university, along with Head of the Department, Col Prof Nand Kishore Nautiyal (retd), attended the seminar. The event was organised by the university in association with the Ministry of Renewable Energy, Government of India. The seminar will continue till tomorrow where equipments and gadgets of solar energy are kept for display. Prof Kamal Ghanshala, Chairman of the university, Prof KP Nautiyal, president of the university, Prof DP Giridhar, Vice-Chancellor, Dr BS Negi, Prof of IIT Roorkee, RP Jamloki, Chairman of the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board were present.
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Book on Dr Tomar released
Dehradun, August 9 He said Tomar had
also been at the forefront in the works for the welfare of society. Uttarakhand Rajya Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari described Dr Tomar as a personality of high
literary stature. Doon University Vice-Chancellor Dr Grijesh Pant compared Dr Tomar to Dr Mahaveer Prasad Diwedi. Dr Basanti Matpal, Dr Suresh Maheshwari and Dr Devendra Nath Shah were present on the occasion.
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100 saplings planted
Nainital, August 9 Dr Lalit Tewari presented a data on biodiversity of the region. He said the plants were required to ensure water conservation also. About 100 plants of 20 species were planted on the occasion. These included rhododendrons, oak timur, viburnum, jasmine hyoscymus and ashawagandha.
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St Jude’s creative fest begins
Dehradun, August 9 Schools like Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), St Thomas College, Hopetown Girls School, Summer Valley School, Mussoorie Public School, Touchwood School, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Academy, Carman School, St Jude’s College and Kasiga School took part. The art contest was divided into two categories - Group A with the topic ‘Depict Life’ and Group B was told to ‘Depict Colours’. The topic for the poster competition was ‘Our World’. Both competitions were judged by Upasana Verma, R Bharadwaj and R Kamboj. In the second round of the online quiz, six teams took part - RIMC, St Thomas, Touchwood School, Summer Valley, Carman and St Jude’s, but only Summer Valley, St Thomas and St Jude’s made it to the third round. The event will continue till August 12 with other competitions and extra-curricular activities.
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Double heartbreak for hosts
Dehradun, August 9 The seniors’ team was thrashed by Asian School 4-0 while the junior squad put up a tough battle against Welham Boys, but ultimately went down fighting 1-0. In the seniors final, Asian School showed their dominance throughout the match and didn’t let the players of the host team score. Pushaki (54th minute and 65th) scored a brace. Fews (15th) and Ayush (50th) netted a goal each. The losers’ junior counterparts gave a neck-and-neck competition to Welham Boys School for the final crown. Scholars Home made some good attempts at the goal but they couldn’t convert these into successes. On the other hand, Fahad Siddiqui of Welham Boys stole the show by scoring the lone goal of the final. Chaya Khanna, Principal of Scholars Home, gave away individual and team prizes. Ayush Bisht of Asian School was adjudged best player of the tournament among seniors. Bharat Khanna of ITIT was given the prize for scoring the maximum number of goals. Among juniors, Gangmai of Scholars Home and Umar Ali of Welham Boys were adjudged best player and best scorer respectively.
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Basketball calendar released
Dehradun, August 9 The district boys and girls teams will participate at the 7th Uttarakhand State Youth Basketball Championship to be held in Haridwar from August 20 to 22. The district association will conduct the FIBA Rule Clinic on the new rule changes and its interpretation on August 26 at Welham Boys School and The Aryan School from 4 pm for all schools and colleges of Dehradun district. Representatives of various affiliated member schools and institutions of the District Basketball Association, Dehradun, had met at Welham Girls School, Dehradun, on August 6 to work out the calendar of activities.
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Oak Grove pip Nirmaldeep Ashram
Dehradun, August 9 While in another match, Tibetan Home drubbed Welham Boys School 5-0. Also, St Georgia beat Moravian 2-0 as Vaibhav Thankur and Rohan netted a goal each for the former. Whereas, the
matches between Raja Ram
Mohan Roy and Doon International School and STSD and PWC got cancelled due to rain. Rest of the matches will be played tomorrow between Col Brown and Welham Boys.
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