Rahul’s dream project to revive NSUI turns sour
Dehradun, September 8
It is bad news for the Congress in Uttarakhand where the dream project of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to revive the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, has turned sour.

6,000 to get power connections by Diwali
Dehradun, September 8
Uttrakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has set a target to provide new connections (meters) to 6,000 consumers by Diwali this year.

Dehradun September 8
The deadline of September 16 announced by the Chief Minister for the completion of the construction work of underground parking and shopping complex at Clock Tower where traders of the Chakrauta road are to be shifted is most unlikely to be met.

Officials of the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) are tightlipped about the delay.

The Resident Engineer of the working agency, UPRNN Limited, Shamsher Singh disclosed that November 25 was the new deadline for the MDDA. Sources inside the MDDA said the deadline fixed by the Chief Minister was unrealistic. But there is no denying the fact that the project got certainly delayed for the reasons which could be avoided.

Shamsher Singh said, “We had to deal with the stiff opposition from a particular community which was opposing the removal of “mazaar” from the project site. They were pacified with the shifting of the ‘mazaar’ a few metres away. This burden should have been handled by the MDDA, but we had to deal with it. Then we were given Rs 17 crore in May only, so we could not start work early.”

The weather too is playing spoilsport. “We have completed major work on three parking floors, but are unable to provide flooring because of the repeated waterlogging due to rain water on the floor. The labours too can’t work in heavy rain. Not only this, the separate area where 14 shops are to be built is submerged. This way, the work on three more floors are yet to be started,” Singh said.

The new building will comprise six floors, three floors for parking, two floors for 212 shops and the sixth floor, an open area to be rented by the MDDA.

The officials ensured that the shopkeepers would be shifted before the enforcement of code of conduct regarding Assembly elections and the Chief Minister would be able to fulfil his promise made to the shopkeepers and public of the city.

A highly placed source at the MDDA quoted saying, “The announcement made by the Chief Minister in February has become a prestige issue as this issue had been hanging fire for many decades due to some shopkeepers enjoying strong political influence and the area has become a major bottleneck for smooth traffic. Now the shopkeepers agree to shift to the place of their choice, the state government will certainly encash this issue in the elections for relieving people from the biggest traffic menace of the city.” 

Dehradun, September 8
The students of MKP Girls College had a glimpse of Kashmiri life today. Carrying with them the flavour of Kashmir, the folk dancers and musicians from Badgaon brought the house down with their electrifying performances.

A joint initiative by the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY) and North Zone Cultural Centre, for the first time the audience got a taste of the rich folk tradition of Kashmir that was both intense and invigorating.

The performers began with a song describing the beauty of Kashmir, which was a hit with a sizeable population of Kashmiri students who too joined the performers.

Then, led by Basheer Ahmed Shah, who belongs to the traditional family (Shah) of performers, the members of the team gave presentations of chakri dance performed during weddings, followed by “rouf” performed during Eid, the invigorating damali dance that reached a crescendo backed by the musical symphony of traditional instruments comprising the rabab, notu, tumbuknari and the drum. The performance ended with a qawwali.

A group of Kashmiri girls appreciates the performance of Kashmiri folk dance artistes at MKP Girls College in Dehradun on Thursday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

“You will be surprised to know that the drummers are not only part of the dance troupes but also play a big role in announcing the time for sehri during Ramzan in the villages back home,” said Basheer Ahmed, who is an expert drummer.

He said the drums and nagaras are part of the Himalayan cultural tradition that dates back to several centuries. “The folk artistes who are accompanying me belong to the traditional family of dancers and join very young. Our folk dance combines the vibrancy of the place and the composite culture that has intermingled for centuries,” said Ahmed.

Despite the rich repertoire of folk dances and the proliferation of local television channels, the performers have too few opportunities at their disposal. “We are paid very less. It is organisations like SPICMACAY and North Zone Cultural Centre (Patiala) that invite us and provide us with an opportunity to perform outside Kashmir,” said Feroze Ahmed Shah, who is not only a proficient vocalist but can also play the traditional rabab. The women dancers included Muskan Tabassum, Nisha, Tabassum and Rumi. 

Dehradun, September 8
It is bad news for the Congress in Uttarakhand where the dream project of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi to revive the National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, has turned sour.

This is the fifth time in a row that the NSUI has been convincingly defeated by the rival Akhil Bharatiya Vidayarthi Parishad (ABVP) in most of the colleges of the capital city. It was in 2008 that Rahul Gandhi decided to revive the frontal organisations of the Congress at the grass-roots level.

He chose Uttarakhand state as an experiment to start inner democracy in the frontal organisations and held elections for the various units, starting from the colleges to the districts and finally at the state level.

Working hard, he paid several visits to the state during the period interacting with college and university students and exhorting them to join the organisation. He supervised the elections that took place for the first time.

His electrifying presence motivated a large number of youngsters to join the organisation across the state. But since then as Rahul Gandhi got busy in other states, the situation of the state NSUI has deteriorated.

The office-bearers of the state NSUI started behaving in a manner giving an impression that they were even above the senior Congress leaders of the state since they were handpicked by Rahul Gandhi.

The message that went at the grass-roots level was negative and a positive high for the Congress in the state as it won all the five parliamentary seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections while the NSUI lost in all the major colleges and the two universities of the state. Since then their fortunes have not looked up. The loss this time, months before the state Assembly elections could be worrisome for the party in the state.

Interestingly, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidayarthi Parishad (ABVP), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), did well in the students’ council poll across the state last year. In all major colleges of Garhwal at Gopeshwar, Kotdwar, Tehri and Pauri, the NSUI lost to the ABVP on prominent positions.

This year as the election period starts, the indications for the NSUI are not encouraging either. The first students’ council elections held in DAV College, Dehradun, the biggest college of the state, has gone in favour of the ABVP.

Plagued by factionalism and favouritism, the state unit of the NSUI has not been able to motivate or attract young students. The council elections in DAV College, Dehradun, was marred by infighting within the NSUI leadership. The choice of the candidates led to the allegations of personal whims and fancies of the state NSUI leadership. “The state BJP government had been blatantly helping the ABVP in the students’ council elections to defeat the NSUI,” claimed Sangram Singh Pundir, a former state president of the NSUI, who was handpicked by Rahul Gandhi to lead the NSUI in the state.

He also claimed that the base of the NSUI had increased in the colleges across the state. But, the results speak otherwise and it seems that the dream project of Rahul Gandhi lay shattered.

Dehradun, September 8
Uttrakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has set a target to provide new connections (meters) to 6,000 consumers by Diwali this year.

Out of this, 2,000 are those connections which have not been provided for the past few months. Managing Director, UPCL, Anil Kumar Jain said, “Not a single house in the entire city should remain in dark by Diwali. This is my commitment. I have identified 6,000 consumers who are to be provided new connections.

No matter what or how, a UPCL team will meet its ambitious target and provide these connection within the time limit.”

Jain also said those customers who had been trying for the new connection for the past three months could also complain to him. They would also be provided with new meters by the festival time.

General Manager, Distribution, SK Tamta, said some 2,000 new meters were yet to be installed. This work would be taken up on a war footing. All meters would be installed outside buildings but within reach.

Vinay Gupta, Administrating Officer, UPCL, said, “Now the meters are fixed at a reasonable height for the comfort of the consumers.”

The MD also took the responsibility of the new electronic meters fixed outside the building.

He said, “We have no other option but to install these meters outside the premises of the consumers to prevent the incidents of power pilferage.

In case if the complaints come to me regarding damage or stealth of any meter, I will own the responsibility and get that repaired or replaced.”

Dehradun September 8
Advocates of the District Courts here boycotted work today in protest against the terror attack near the Delhi High Court and observed a two-minute silence in the afternoon to pay condolence to the families of those who were killed in the attack.

President of the Dehradun Bar Association Manmohan Kanswal said, “It is unfortunate that terrorists tried to destroy the temple of law, the High Court building, and kill innocent people working or visiting there. The advocates fraternity all over the country must come forward to denounce this dastardly act.” 

Dehradun September 8
On the occasion of World Physiotherapy Day, physiotherapy students of Dolphin (PG) Institute of Bio-Medical and Natural Sciences, Dehradun, held a health camp at the Old-Age Home of the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) here today.

A large number of aged people were examined during the camp and were also provided with orthopaedic as well as neurological support free of cost. The physiotherapists rendered information on the importance of day-to-day exercises while encouraged the patients to follow its daily routine to stay fit.

Arvind Gupta, chairman of the institute said, “The patients at the YWCA were found to be suffering from back pain, weak bones, joint pains, chronic injury pain, asthma, Parkinson’s disease and paralysis, which could be easily cured through physiotherapy.”

He also congratulated his students and the team of physiotherapists for the contribution to the welfare of mankind.

Gupta also urged the state government to recruit physiotherapists at the Primary Health Centres and other government hospitals for better health services.

“I also appeal to the Uttarakhand Government to constitute a physiotherapy council, which can monitor as well as administer the studies on physiotherapy in the state,” he added.

Dehradun, September 8
Akranta edged past Wills Youth Club 2-1 in a super league match of the district football league held on the Pavilion ground here today.

It was Ajit (15th minute) and (25th) who did the job for the winning side with a brace. His back-to-back goals put Wills Club in jeopardy.

However, the latter team recovered a bit when Mohit (29th) chipped in with a goal to reduce the margin.

Sadly, Wills’ players could not score any goal thereafter and suffered a loss. The whole second half of the encounter remained goalless.

Tomorrow, Doon Valley will play against Sunderwala Boys in another super league match.

Uttarakhand Police and Adhoiwala Boys with 24 points each are scheduled to play in the final on Sunday. Sunderwala so far has scored 18 points in total and will play their last match tomorrow.

Dehradun, September 8
Sanjeev Sharma became the first international coach of the state after the successful completion of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) international coach course, which held in Chennai earlier this month.

A total of 38 coaches from different countries mainly Turkey, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Iran, Maldives, India, Myanmar and Hong Kong attended the course.

“I am happy I have cleared the examination to become the only international coach of the state. I thank all those people who supported me. There are about four to five coaches from the country who have cleared this examination with me,” a smiling Sharma said.

Sharma is working as a draftsman in the Survey of India (SOI) and have been coaching in India for the past 20 years. “I have accompanied the state team as a chief coach in several national events earlier,” Sharma told reporters in a press conference today.

Meanwhile, the District Volleyball Association, Dehradun, congratulated him for becoming the international coach. Vice-president Arun Sood and secretary Sanjeev Sharma of the association also released the yearly calendar of activities on the occassion.

A mini volleyball championship will be held on September 17 and 18 in which boys and girls of under-14 can take part. Whereas, a state-level championship in the same age group will be organised on September 24 and 25, office-bearer of the association, Seva Singh Matharu, informed the media.

Dehradun, September 8
Doon Valley Public School was outplayed by Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, 5-0 on the fifth day of RIMC Soccer Cup here yesterday.

For the winning squad, Annie Kakkar scored a brace to play a major role. Vir, Sakaar and Udai also chipped in with a goal each. The rival team failed to retaliate throughout the match.

Another match between The Doon School and The Sri Ram School, Gurgaon, ended up in a draw. The hosts RIMC also won the match against The Asian School 5-2. Nelson Singh scored four goals and Ayush Salaria netted a goal for the RIMC. Lama and Pariwat scored for The Asian School.

Meanwhile, TNM beat SJA 3-2 with the help of Nurbou, Dorjee and Tanzing Sonam who scored a goal each for the winning team. Sarthak and Pranay struck goals for SJA on the other hand.

Assam Valley School blanked Maharshi Vidya Mandir 3-0. Hussain scored two goals and Aier netted a goal for AVS. Welham Boys’ School too registered a one-sided 4-0 win over Doon International School.

Pathania scored two goals and Shivesh and Vishal scored a goal each.

Dehradun, September 8
After successfully holding the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship in June last year, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the Table Tennis Federation of India have assigned the responsibility to the Uttarakhand Table Tennis Association (UTTA) to host the prestigious Indian Junior and Cadet Open -ITTF Premium Junior Circuit. The world-ranking tournament having a prize money of US $10,000 will be held in two categories, junior (under-18) and cadet (under-15), for boys and girls in singles and doubles from September 28 to October 2 at the ice-skating rink here.

Addressing a press conference here, Dhanraj Chaudhary, secretary-general of the Table Tennis Federation of India, said 100 players from 12 to 15 countries were expected to participate in the event. Before the event, a training camp will be organised for the participants from September 25 to September 27, which will be conducted by Poland coach Leszek Kucharski. Chaudhary appreciated the facilities available at the ice-skating rink for holding the world-ranking tournament. According to officials, junior events are open for players born on or after January 1, 1993, and cadet events are open for players born on or after January 1, 1996.

The president of the UTTA, Aloke B Lal, said they had been entrusted with the task of holding this tournament after the success of the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship last year. — TNS