Roadways employees on dharna outside their office in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

The protesters are now proving to be dangerous in respect of law and order situation as the BEd/BPEd Prashikshit Berozgaar Sanghtan today forced three leaders to sit with them outside Gandhi Park. Yesterday, they had forced BJP MLA Brijmohan Kotwal to sit with them for two hours outside the park. However, he was later rescued by the police.

Rajiv Gandhi Sena stands up for slum dwellers

Members of the Rashtriya Rajiv Gandhi Sena today staged a dharna at the Gandhi Park here. They have been demanding ownership rights for slum dwellers and simplification of the rules to get domicile certificates.

The sena members were led by their state president Om Pal Rathi. Addressing the protesters, Rathi said they would continue to raise their voice till the slum dwellers in the state got ownership rights. He accused the state government of creating unnecessary hassles for residents seeking the domicile certificates. Rathi said those who had been living in Uttarakhand for the past many decades were being deprived of the domicile certificates.

A campaign against corruption in the state and regular service for contractual employees in the various state government departments were some of the demands raised by the protesters.

General secretary of the sena Sumita Sharma and its vice-president Iqbal Siddiqui were prominent participants at the dharna.

Roadways staff stage dharna

The Uttarakhand Roadways Employees Union staged a dharna at their office on the Gandhi Road to press the authorities for the fulfilment of their demands.

The dharna was led by president of the regional unit of the union Vijay Singh and JP Badoni. Anand Kukreti, Prakash Bijlan, Hari Singh, Niranjan Pal, Sudesh Kumar and others participated in the dharna.

The demands of the workers included payment of dearness allowance from July 1, 2010, payment of salaries to the drivers/conductors on the 7th of each month, a working plan to be sent to state government regarding the payment of the arrears to the employees as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission on the lines of other corporations, acquisition of land for the Rishikesh Depot, absorption of the dependents of the deceased employees in the corporation, putting contractual employees on regular service, etc.

Pithoragarh, April 19
Villagers of the Soar valley, surrounding the district headquarters of Pithoragarh, yesterday celebrated “Chaitola”, the annual crop festival, by worshipping local deities and umbrellas of the landlord deity of the area.

“The symbolic umbrellas of the deity were taken out by them in the valley, which is the original place of the deity who is considered to be the first settler in the valley 500 years ago,” said Dr Ram Singh, a cultural historian of the Kumaon region.

The sedans and the umbrellas of the landlord deity then visited 22 villages of the valley. “Villagers offered their new crops to the deity and prayed for the successful harvesting of the crop,” said Jivanand Bhatt, the priest of the deity at the main temple .

Likewise, the sedan of the local landlord deities were also raised at Satgarh, Majirkanda, Toli and Lunthura villages of the district .

In the Rawat Patti area, the umbrella of the landlord deity, Shiva, was raised in Toli village. This symbolic umbrella was then taken to all 18 villages of the area. “In Toli village, the deity is worshiped for nine days and on the 10th day, all people from 18 villages offer local grains to the deity and on the 15th day, on the auspicious occasion of Chaitra Purnima, the deity is raised and after getting blessing from him, the symbolic umbrella is taken around the villages,” said Revati Mehta, a social worker in Toli village.

Dehradun, April 19
The widow of BJP leader Balwant Singh Kanyal, who was allegedly gunned down inside a police station in 2009, today met Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva and sought a CBI probe into her husband’s murder.

Deepika Kanyal met Alva at Raj Bhavan and demanded a CBI probe into her husband’s murder, officials said.

BJP leader and then Kotabagh Development Block head Balwant Singh Sanyal was allegedly shot dead inside a police station in Nainital in 2009. He was shot in the head from close range by gunmen, who later escaped. The attackers also took away rifles of some policemen. The incident had sparked violence in which a head constable was killed. — PTI

Dehradun, April 19
The University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) organised the fourth annual voluntary blood donation camp in collaboration with the IMA Blood Bank here. The four-day camp, which concluded here yesterday, was conducted under the umbrella of the Directorate of Student Affairs of the UPES.

The students donated 1,086 units of blood. Last year, the UPES was the highest donor in the entire state and Western UP. — TNS

Dehradun, April 19
World Heritage Day was marked by the inauguration of the heritage clubs in Jaswant Modern Senior Secondary School and Welham Boys’ School here yesterday. The heritage clubs are primarily involved in school-based activities that seek to create awareness among young people on heritage. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has also recommended the establishment of the heritage clubs in schools as part of continuous and comprehensive evaluation schemes.

Students of Jaswant Modern School commemorated World Heritage Day at the picturesque and spiritually uplifting premises of Sri Aurobindo Ashram on the Old Mussoorie Road here. Present on the occasion were Devi Wahi, social worker, Madhu Anjali, coordinator of the ashram, and Meenakshi Gandotra, Principal, Jaswant Modern School.

The children spoke on the significance of heritage and presented hymns in praise of heritage.

Ribbons and scarves with heritage messages composed by the students were tied to a pledge tree and the students promised to protect heritage in any way possible. Lokesh Ohri, co-convener, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Uttarakhand, spoke on why young people need to come forward and protect heritage. The children were educated on Sri Aurobindo’s vision of heritage by Madhu. A heritage walk through the ashram was also organised.

Welham Boys’ School also inaugurated its heritage club as a follow-up activity of the INTACH Teachers’ Workshop held on January 21 and 22. Students came together to formulate a future action plan for the activities of the heritage club. The school club proposes to visit Khalanga Memorial soon. The monuments of Dehradun, which have been listed on the heritage map of INTACH, were also discussed. Also present on the occasion was SS Gera, club in charge.

Dehradun, April 19
The prestigious All-India Inter-School Hugh Catchpole Debates started at the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) here today. A total of 13 schools are participating in a total of seven debates being held at four venues.

The Scindia School, Gwalior, won the debate on the topic “Industrialisation and Development go Hand in Hand” defeating Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie. YPS, Patiala won the debate on “Academics Ensure Success in Life” defeating Unison School, Dehradun. The RIMC-A team defeated Scholars Home, Dehradun, on the topic “Doing Away with the Examinations is Diluting Education System”. The Doon School won the debate on the topic “Religious Involvement in the Schools Should be Abolished” by defeating the RIMC-B team.

Avom School, Assam, won the debate on the topic “Euthanasia should be Legalised” by trouncing Summer Valley School, Dehradun. On the Topic “Celebrities Make Bad Role Models”, St Joseph’s Academy defeated Asian School, Dehradun. Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, won the debate on the topic “Is Human Cloning Ethical” defeating Welham Boys’ School, Dehradun.

The finals will be held tomorrow.

Dehradun, April 19
Rising Star, Premnagar, defeated Coronation XI by seven wickets in the ongoing Khalnaga Krida Samiti Cricket Tournament here today.

Coronation XI scored 109 runs for seven wickets in the allotted 15 overs. Ravi (28), Dev (25) and Santosh (20) were the principal scorers for the batting side. Satish and Manoj of Rising Star got two wickets each.

In reply, Rising Star scored 115 runs in 10 overs losing three wickets. Nari (56) was the top scorer for his squad paving the way for an easy win. Mohit (27) also contributed valuably.

Dehradun, April 19
The closing ceremony of Course Serial 13 of territorial Army officers was held here yesterday after the completion of their three-month post-commission training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA).

The ceremony was presided over by Brig LK Rampal, Officiating Commandant (IMA).

On the occasion, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medal for the officer standing overall first in the course was given to Lt Jai Singh (123 Grenadiers). Brig KP Deo Medal for the best officer cadet in physical training was given to Lt Udayveer Singh (114 JAT). Brig PS Rathore Medal for the best officer cadet in drill was given to Lt Rajesh Kumar (111 Kumaon).

Brig Kapil Mohan Medal for the best officer cadet in tactics and weapon training was given to Lt Rishabh Singh Chandel (103 SIKH LI).

Matches under way in the District Junior (Under-18) Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Dehradun on Tuesday

Dehradun, April 19
Welham Boys’ School beat Moravian Institute in a pre-quarterfinal match of the boys’ category at the District Junior (Under-18) Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls here today.

In another match, Hilton School defeated Colonel Browns’ School. Pestle Weed also qualified for the quarterfinals beating St Joseph’s Academy. Summer Valley got the better of Jaswant Modern School.

Mighty RIMC suffered a setback at the hands of Kaisga. Doon International surpassed Aryan School and Unison World School beat Tibetan Village Children’s School to enter the quarterfinals.

Dehradun, April 19
KR Soren of IIPR, Kanpur, emerged the winner in the 100-m race (men) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) North Zone Sports Meet held at the Forest Research Institute here today. Narayan Singh of the ICAR, Izatnagar, and Hardev Singh of CIPHET, Ludhiana, stood second and third, respectively.

In the 100-m race (women), Deepika Goswami of CIPHET, Ludhiana, Pushpa K of CISH, Lucknow, and Tarvinder of the CPRI, Shimla, secured the first, second and third positions respectively.

In th discus throw (women), Shyamlata of the CPRI, Shimla, Santosh Kumari of the NDRI, Karnal, and Sunila Thakur of the DMR, Solan, got the first, second and third places, respectively While in the men’s category Mohan Lal and Sandeep Deswal, both from the NDRI, Karnal, and Rajesh Kumar of the DWR, Karnal, stood first, second and third respectively.

Dehradun, April 19
The first Inter Office/Inter Institutions and Inter Club Badminton Tournament will be organised by the Education and Sports Development Association in the multipurpose hall of the Parade Ground from April 22 to 24.

The tournament will be inaugurated by District Magistrate Sachin Kurve on April 22. Ranjeet Kumar Sinha, Director, Sports, Uttarakhand, will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony on April 24, said a press note issued by the association.