Dehradun, May 4
The four-day anxious wait of the family of pilot Tejpal Singh Mamik, who was flying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu’s chopper, ended in despair this morning.

The family, at their Race Course-situated home, broke down as the sad news reached the house in the morning. Several dignitaries, including Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, visited the house and offered their condolences. Nishank announced that Rs 2-lakh ex-gratia grant would be given to the bereaved family.

The bodies of five persons, including Dorjee Khandu, two pilots and a security officer, were reportedly found in an area at an altitude of 4,900 metres in Luguthang, near India-China border, this morning.

The ill-fated Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter had taken off from Tawang at 9.50 am on Saturday and after about 20 minutes it lost communication with the air control personnel.

Since Saturday, the family of the 50-year-old pilot has been glued to the TV screen to get the updates of the missing helicopter.

Mamik lived with his three unmarried sisters at the Race Course house. His parents have already passed away. His wife, along with two children, lives in Chandigarh where they both study.

He had joined Pawan Hans in 2005 after resigning from the Indian Army where he was working as a flyer. He had completed his schooling from St Joseph’s Academy and had later taken admission at DAV (PG) College here.

During his studies at the college he got selected in the National Defence Academy (NDA) from where he had joined the Army as a flyer.

His neighbours and friends said he was a very social person and was very good at singing. “He was a very sociable person and would walk around Race Course often. He was the pride of our locality but we regret he is no more now,” Devender Pal Singh Kohli, a neighbour, said.

“Mamik was very good at singing ghazals. Whenever he would come home he entertained us with beautiful ghazals. He had a very sweet voice and we all used to love it,” Kohli added.

His sister Charanjit Kaur, who was not in a condition to speak today, had told The Tribune two days ago: “Since his childhood he has been fond of singing, driving new cars and travelling. That is why he had decided to become a pilot very early in his life.”

Mamik had left the Army and joined the Pawan Hans aviation company, as he couldn’t give much time to his family. However, with his sudden demise, he has left behind his three sisters who have already lost their parents.

Meanwhile, since morning, neighbours, relatives and dignitaries had visited his house to sympathise with the family. Other than the Chief Minister, Congress MLA Dinesh Agarwal and Sports Minister Khazan Das also visited his house.

The leaders remembered Mamik had piloted them several times during the official inspections and religious tours during his posting in Uttarakhand.

Dehradun, May 4
Congress councillors in the Dehradun Municipal Corporation burnt an effigy of the BJP state government in protest against the “failure” of the state government to provide land to the freedom fighters and landless at Tehsil Chowk, here today.

Ashok Verma, leader of the Congress councillors in the corporation, charged that the state government had rejected the unanimous proposal of the corporation in this regard which was unfortunate. He further said that the Congress councillors had been asking for an appointment with the Chief Minister for the past one year, but have not been given time.

The councillors marched up to Tehsil Chowk and burnt an effigy of the state government amid slogan shouting against the BJP government.

Raj Kaumar, another Congress councillor, said that the rejection of the proposal by the elected representatives of the corporation was an insult to the general public. He said those freedom fighters who were landless should be given land immediately, not only in Dehradun but elsewhere in the state also. “There are very few freedom fighters alive and they should be respected and looked after properly,” said Ashok Verma.

Anoop Kapoor, Vinay Kohli, Deep Singh Chauhan, Naveen Bisht, Dinesh Dhanai, Anant Tyagi, Jagdish Dhiman, Rama Gaur, Allauddin, Vijay Partap Mall, Nisha Saini, Beena Bisht, Subodhini Sharma and Ashok Kohli, all Congress councillors, participated in the protest. 

Dehradun, May 4
The future of 2,927 students studying in Forest Schools is at stake with the coming up of the Right to Education Act and these temporary schools, which are located in the deep forests, expected to shut by the end of 2012.

While the Right to Education (RTE) Act calls for establishing permanent school structures, the peculiarity of the schools and the Forest Act in place in the state would not allow any construction in the forests.

“We are looking at several possibilities. We will have to undertake a refresher course for these children so that they are able to join formal schools. While in some cases where this is not possible the transport facility and escort facility will be started for them so that they can go to the nearby school. An honorarium of Rs 250 would be given per child per month,” said Sowjanya, State Project Director.

She said the states of Chattisgarh and Jharkhand have a similar problem but their schools do not fall in the sanctuaries or parks so the Forest Act is not a hindrance there.

“The Government of India has asked the state government to construct permanent structures but most of these schools are in the areas where parks and sanctuaries exist and no permanent construction can be carried out in these areas. As a way out we have asked for an extension period till 2012 after which we will have chalk out scheme to rehabilitated these children,” said Sowjanya.

There are a total of 2,927 students who study in these schools and are being given education under the out-of-school programme of the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS).

These schools were started to curb dropout rate and provide education to the communities who are living inside the forests.

The maximum number of such centres (around 74) exist in Haldwani and around four centres are in Dehradun at the Rajaji National Park. The children in primary and upper classes study for a period of 11 months at these temporary centres. The state Education Department spends around Rs 1,535 per year per child (from classes I to V) under the EGS scheme.

Dehradun, May 4
A photo exhibition of ace photographer Bhumesh Bharti titled ‘Impressions of Life’, opened at Muse Art Gallery of Inderlok Hotel.

A self- taught photographer, Bhumesh, began his career in 1990s and since then had never looked back. His series on the famous Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI) had been well appreciated. A total of 50 photographs are on display.

These photographs cover different aspects of nature’s bounty, such as the languid movement of a lion captured at the Gir sanctuary, the winged guests ready to embark, and the ever-captivating flowers in different hues.

“I am happy when I am in the midst of nature; it has a certain soothing effect on me and allows me to experiment,” said Bhumesh. The exhibition will remain open till May 20.

Dehradun, May 4
Dehradun Career Carnival will be organised by St Joseph Academy and St Joseph Academy Alumni Association along with Career Launcher on May 7 and 8.The carnival is aimed to provide genuine career-oriented information to students.

Addressing mediapersons here today, St Joseph Academy’s Principal Bro AJ George said the carnival was specially meant for students who had recently passed out of class XII, and those who were studying in classes IX, X and XI. He said this was the time when students decided their careers and needed guidance.