Pithoragarh, January 3
Residents of Munsiyari town and surrounding villages are travelling 50 km extra to reach the highway, as the Pithoragarh-Munsiyari road, which was blocked due to the snowfall that occurred four days ago, has still not been cleared.

According to sources in the PWD, there is about 3 ft of snow on the road. “The 7-km stretch of the road from Patharani to Kalamuni has been under 3 ft of snow on even the fourth day today,” said a PWD engineer based at Didihat.

“The essentials are being supplied to the town through the Jauljibi-Baram road,” said Pithoragarh District Magistrate NS Negi. Negi added that the unavailability of snow cutters at Kalamuni Hill (9,000 ft above sea level) had delayed the opening of the road. “Snow cutters and bulldozers are being sent to the place from Didihat and we hope the road can be opened by tomorrow evening,” he added.

Meanwhile, after the heavy snowfall that occurred four days days ago, an alert has been sounded on the Indo-Nepal border. The water level in the Kali river has gone down due to the freezing temperature. A low water level in the river leads to an increase in the activities of wildlife smugglers operating across Indo-Nepal border. The border guards have been told to step up vigil at the bridges at Jauljibi, Balvakote, Dharchula and Sitapul at Garbiyang, said BS Tolia, Commandant of the SSB unit based at Didihat.

Dehradun, January 3
Cold wave conditions continued in Uttarakhand today with the temperatures going below zero degree in higher reaches of the state in the past 24 hours.

The Met Department in Dehradun attributed this cold wave to snow-capped peaks. However, weather today remained clear and dry. The foggy conditions did prevail during evening hours.

Dr Anand Sharma, Director, Dehradun Meteorological Centre, said while cold wave conditions would continue in some parts of the state, the weather overall would remain dry. He said the foggy conditions would continue for the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, several tourists got stranded in the apple township of Harsil in Uttarkashi district due to the blockages on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri highway after the recent snowfall. The Mussoorie-Tehri road that had been closed due to snowfall for the past three days was opened for light traffic vehicles.

There have been reports of water pipelines getting frozen during morning hours at some high-altitude areas of Champawat, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts. The District Magistrates of these districts have directed the officials concerned to make arrangements for bonfires as a precautionary measure.

The skiing slopes of Auli in Chamoli district had ample snow. The SAF Games are scheduled to begin from January 14 with the venues being set up both in Chamoli and Dehradun districts.

Garhwali folk singer Preetam Bhartwan

As the industry entered 2000, with the advent of digital revolution the format of film and music industry transformed and VCDs and DVDs captured the imagination of people in Uttarakhand. The CD format came as a heavenly intervention for the ailing industry and thus provided a new lease of life to artistes and technicians of Hillywood.

According to records, 2001 to 2007 can be termed as a transition period as producers, artistes and creative writers mushroomed in large numbers churning out video films, music video albums. It was during this period, the film and music industry in Uttarakhand got its name Hillywood, similar to Bollywood and Hollywood. Many finding this businesss much more lucrative than any other made a gold rush. Within a few years the VCD and DVD shops sprung up at every nook and corner of the state. More than one lakh persons benefitted from direct employment the industry provided during this period.

Hillywood, after reaching its zenith by 2007 began the downward slide. The lacklusterresponse from the governments and political fraternity that vied to preserve the culture and tradition of the state did not help in curbing the downtrend and has not been able till date.

According to Garhwali film director and producer Hillywood president Pradeep Bhandari, the situation of the industry today is as grim as the distress migration prevalent in the hills of Uttarakhand. As the hills are now barren due to migration, the wholesale shops of VCDs and DVDs have also closed down due to lack of business.

Bhandari further says that maximum number of music companies that churned out a large number of video albums are biting the dust, and shopkeepers instead of keeping VCDs have found the mobile business as a better option. Artistes have also turned away from the industry due to lack of work and can be seen doing menial jobs in hotels or shops. The situation today is such that video album producers are unable to find talented artistes for their honest ventures. Parents, due to the lack of job guarantee, have begun advising their children to look for some permanent options other than Hillywood.

Natural disasters that occurred in 2010 dealt a severe blow to the industry under crisis. The decline was aggravated by video piracy through which producers incurred heavy losses and lost the interest to enter into future ventures with the same spirit.

The year 2010 also witnessed the accident of eminent Garhwali singer Kalpana Chauhan, who lost her foot and her musician brother his hand in the same accident in New Delhi. Another artiste Bhagwati Prasad Pokhriyal lost his life due to lack of adequate medical care despite the fact that he was from the same village as of Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Singer Mangla Rawat, OM Badhani and senior ariste like Kabutari Devi came back after a long struggle with their ailment in 2010.

The natural disaster in 2010 broke the back of artistes as most of the festivals, like the Autumn Festival in Mussoorie, were cancelled abruptly, thus affecting their livelihood. The VCD business that netted around Rs 10 crore in 2009 diminished to only Rs 5 crore in 2010.

Bhandari laments the fact that the government and public representatives are responsible for such a situation of the industry. The government, instead of promoting regional culture through films and music industry, has completed neglected it through levying high entertainment taxes on such endeavours. The high entertainment tax meant that maximum cinema houses, especially in the hills, shut down and some were converted into big malls.

The year 2010 did see, largely due to the personal efforts of producers, new albums being made, namely “Yaad Aali Tehri”, “Bhagat ar Ghandiyal”,”Kabi to Holi Subahr” etc.

Eminent social activist and school Principal Mukesh Lal is of the view that all is not lost and it is also in a way great achievement for Hillywood that it has survived the jolts of 2010. Garhwali folk singer and Jagar Samrat Pritam Barthwan also agrees that 2010 was a tough period for artistes and technicians, but he is hopeful this year.

Barthwan, speaking to The Tribune, informed that the offers to sing abroad are already in the pipeline. The first tour has been finalised for the United Arab Emirates on January 7 in which Vishal Haryala, Sangeeta Dhaundiyal and other eminent artistes will present the culture in front of the huge Uttarakhand diaspora. The show is being organised by the Uttarakhand Association of the United Arab Emirates. Similiarly, other artistes are also busy this year at different venues and everyone is hopeful that 2011 will be a prosperous year for citizens of the state and artistes too.

Dehradun, January 3
Agitated members of the BEd/BPEd Prashikshit Berozgar Sangathan took out a rally from the Parade Ground to the Secretariat here today and shouted slogans against the administration in favour of their pending demands.

State president of the sangathan Baldev Singh Bhandari said the federation had given several memorandums to the Chief Minister, Secretary (Education) and to the State Education Minister, but no action had been taken so far.

Bhandari also criticised the state government for taking no decision in the interest of the trained teachers. “Instead of the increasing the number of seats of unemployed trained BEd and BPEd teachers, the administration has failed to fill the existing seats,” said Bhandari.

The pending demands of these BEd and BPEd trained teachers include the request to the state government for opening up of the 8,000 vacancies of special BTC teachers and 5,000 vacancies of the LT teachers.

“We request the state government to take action immediately in favour of our demands or we will be compelled to take other ways of protest,” said Bhandari.

Earlier, the protesters staged a dharna in front of the Vidhan Sabha and observed a fast unto death in favour of their demands.

State vice-president of the sangathan Himanshu Rajput, state secretary Birpal Bisht, treasurer Rakesh Nautiyal and spokesperson Anup Jadli were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, January 3
The campus of Phool Chand Nari Shilp Inter College was buzzing with enthusiasm and festivity on the concluding day of the NSS camp here today. The cultural programme captivated a large number of students as well as teachers of the college.

At the cultural programme girls presented folk songs and performed on Kumaoni and Garhwali numbers. The music and the folk dances mesmerised everyone. The bhajans sung by participants made the environment all the more reverberating, while their friends cheered them from down the stage.

While addressing the event, Prem Lata Bodai, project officer, NSS, emphasised on the need and importance of value-based education and all-round development that had become an integral part of the academic curriculum. She congratulated all the volunteers of the NSS for their efforts and wished them good luck for their future.

The team of Akum Drugs, Haridwar, with the CII Uttarakhand Cricket Cup in Dehradun. Tribune photographs

Ankit Pant and Deepak got two wickets each. While batting, second trainees’ team achieved the target of 121 runs in 29.4 overs at the loss of five wickets. Man of the Match Pranjal (51*) and Deepak Bhandari (28) fashioned the innings of Sports Trainees and led the side to a win. Abhishek (20*) also contributed. TCA’s Preetam got three batsmen out. Meanwhile, the final of this competition is scheduled to be played January 5.

Himalayan Academy beat U’khand Academy

Himalayan Cricket Academy (HCA) defeated Uttarakhand Cricket Academy (UCA) by 24 runs in the Uttarakhand T20 League Championship held at the Survey of India Stadium here today.

HCA won the toss and chose to bat first. It set a mammoth target of 161 runs for the rival team. Suraj (50) and Zeeshan (48) were the top scorers for the team. Aaush (19) also contributed to the HCA’s innings.

In reply, UCA could score 136 runs before getting all out. Sharik (24) and Mandeep (21) started well for the team. However, they couldn’t carry forward the momentum and went back to the pavilion soon.

Akums Drugs lift CII Uttarakhand Cricket Cup

Akums Drugs, Haridwar, won the CII Uttarakhand Cricket Cup Tournament by beating Minda Corporation, Pantnagar, by 38 runs in the final match played held at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy grounds here yesterday.

After winning the toss Akums Drugs decided to bat first. It scored 107 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 19.4 overs. Sheetal Tyagi of Akums Drugs scored 20 runs and took three wickets. He was declared the man of the match.

Chasing the winning target, Minda Corporation got all out for 69 runs in 17.4 overs.

The tournament saw participation of eight teams from the industries concentrated in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions. The teams of Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Nestle India, Minda Corporation participated from the Kumaon region while the Hindustal Unilever Ltd, Aquamall Water Solutions, Shivam Autotech and Akums Drugs teams participated from the Garhwal region.

The Tournament Technical Committee office-bearers gave away the prizes to the winners.

Dehradun, January 3
Eleven Star stormed into the final of the Saheed Khadag Bahadur Memorial Football Tournament defeating Garhwal 4-1 here today in semifinal that was played at SGRR, Nehru Gram.

The winning team will face Doon Star in final at 1.30 pm on Wednesday. In this important fixture today, Dhruv scored a brace. He netted goals in the 15th minute of the first half and 38th minute of the second half. Also, Nitin (28th) in the first half and Gaurav Sharma (21st) in the second half contributed with a goal each.

Dehradun, January 3
The host Shri Guru Nanak Public Boys Inter-College, Chukhuwala, prevailed over the ONGC Welfare Committee team 4-1 on the second day of the District Hockey League Championship for Boys played here today.

The host team played aggressively. Within one minute of the play, Kuldeep (35th second) scored a goal. The host team continued its attack as Adil (5th minute) and Shiv (9th minute) scored the next two goals.

The first half ended at the score 3-0 in GNP’s favour.

In the second half, Ankit gave some respite to the ONGC team by scoring a goal in the 26th minute.

Meanwhile, Gaurav (39th minute) of the host team netted another goal to take the tally to 4-1. Tomorrow’s league match will be played at 1.30 pm at the same venue.