Dehradun, February 7
An inspection of the overall status and housekeeping of private captive elephants around Corbett National Park done by People For Animals, Uttarakhand, on directives of National Tiger Conservation Authority has led to startling revelations. Blatant violations have been revealed and the Project Elephant guidelines have completely been ignored as per the findings.

This is the first survey done in Uttarakhand since the Project Elephant guidelines have been launched by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Gauri Maulekhi, Member Secretary, People for Animals, Uttarakhand, who led the survey, disclosed that captive elephants around Corbett faced torture of all sorts and was a fit case of violation of acts which tantamount to cruelty to elephants.

National Tiger Conservation Authority had some time back directed PFA for making appraisal of overall status of the captive elephants. The NTCA had expressed concern over reports of very poor upkeep of captive elephants, resulting in their poor health status.

Maulekhi said while injured and diseased elephants were being made to work, their general health conditions were horrible. Housing, too, was not up to the mark and even legal status of these captive elephants was a question mark.

As of General Health Observations revealed in the survey, majority of the animals inspected were found in dull state, primarily due to continuous work. Animals are always tied at one location when not working. Majority of the animals were being bathed once or twice a week. This has led to dryness and accumulation of dirt over their skin, furthermore leading to parasitic infestation.

The survey also revealed that all the animals have never been dewormed and vaccinated against susceptible diseases.

This was jeopardising the health state of these animals, making them exposed to severe diseases like tetanus, rabies and increasing the parasitic load. “Many animals revealed signs of torture. This includes wounds caused by some kind of pointed device over the forehead, base of the ears and hind legs. All mahouts and caretakers of these elephants lack training and, therefore, standardised protocols for the management of captive elephants are lacking,” Maulekhi pointed out.

Regarding housing and movement, in most of the cases examined, there was no continuous supply of potable drinking water to the elephants. In majority of the cases inspected, revealed evidence of use of spiked hobbles and barbed wires along with depriving captive elephants of sufficient shelter. Many elephants were working up to 9 hours a day

continuously. During this duration these elephants were tied with the saddle, not only exposing the animal to injury and stress but also violating the acts which are tantamount to cruelty to elephants.

Even on legal status count, it came to the fore that no survey of the captive elephants has ever been conducted by the Uttarakhand state since the date of issue of guidelines from Project Elephant.

The office of the Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve, used to maintain documents of all private captive elephants in the periphery of the CTR till the year 2009, but that has not been updated.

As per their records, there were 10 elephants in the area till 2009. Only 4 of these elephants are still present in the area. No records of their relocation could be found with the Forest Department.

Haridwar, February 7
On the pious occasion of Magh Poornima festive bath, lakhs of devotees from Uttarakhand and different parts of the country took a dip in the holy Ganga this morning. Till the evening, the devotees were seen thronging Ganga ghats though the auspicious timing of the bath was till 1:43 pm. From yesterday evening itself, thousands of pilgrims had occupied dozens of dharmshalas, ashrams, mathhs, lodges and guests houses, particularly those coming from other neighbouring states.

Early in the morning due to intense foggy climate, there was a dip in the outpour of pilgrims, but as the sun rays got visible, the inflow of devotees increased.

Elaborate security arrangements were in place for this auspicious bath, which holds immense religious significance for devotees.

Higher police officials monitored the proceedings with mela zone being divided into various sectors for efficient management of the occasion.

Special traffic plans have been chalked out keeping in mind the flow of traffic on National Highways 58 and 72. Traffic police personnel were placed at strategic and congested intersections to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.

While Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel were put on red alert with a bomb disposal squad at hand, sniffer squad, horse squad and sharp-shooter commandos were also placed at sensitive points.

GRP and RPF maintained security cover at the railway station where checking was also done as a precautionary measure.

Superintendent of city police traffic Kiran Lal Shaw said that the holy festival was successfully organised with the smooth flow of traffic being ensured on the national highways. The reserve traffic plan was, thus, not needed.

From Magh Poornima onwards, the Kanwar yatra has also begun with kanwariyas fetching the holy Ganga jal in their kanwars to offer it to their respective temples of Lord Shiva.

Dehradun, February 7
A delegation of Chakrata Road shopkeepers, led by Virender Rawat, met Chief Minister BC Khanduri today to seek his help in resolving the crisis over leaving a two-metre space of their shops for the parking purpose.

They returned disappointed when Khanduri asked them to resolve it at their own level with the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA).

On the other hand, MDDA officials have put the ball in the court of the state government to make any final decision in this matter.

The shopkeepers are in a shock as just a fortnight ago, vice-chairman,MDDA, BVRC Purushottam had given them assurance of allowing them to give up only one metre space. But now he hardened his stance and insisted on two-metre space outside the shops.

The shopkeepers, who are left with only five to seven metres, are not ready to leave any more space saying that if they left two metre, they will not have enough space to store their articles in the shops.

Gulshan Kumar, a shopkeeper, said, “It is ludicrous that the VC mentions about the government order when he flouted the order in not distributing new shops serialwise in the new shopping complex. It also gave us lesser space than what we had in our shops on Chakrata Road and thus violated the order again. Now it wants to stick to the order because it suits them.”

The MDDA has also sent a fresh notice to 15 shopkeepers who had installed shutters in their shops on Chakrata Road. According to the notice, which was sent by Secretary, MDDA, Yugal Kishore Pant, the shopkeepers will pay a fine of Rs 500 everyday till they do not remove the shutters from their shops. The MDDA has also prepared a list of the 16 tenants living on Chakrata Road who are to be distributed houses under the rehabilitation plan. It is only the tenants who were left to be settled.

Dehradun, February 7
With the annual examinations of junior high schools beginning from February 21, anxiety has gripped students, teachers and parents as the syllabus is yet to be completed in government schools.

Teachers said due to the election duties, the syllabus could not be completed.

“The syllabus of Classes VI-VIII could not be completed as teachers were busy in poll-related duties. The government should avoid assigning non-academic duties to teachers as hits the studies hard,” said Satish Ghildiyal, media coordinator, Junior High School, Poorva Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh.

According to the curriculum of government schools, the syllabus of all classes should be completed by January so that revision could be done in February.

Talking to The Tribune, RS Rawat, Additional District Education Officer, said: “So far, there is no decision to postpone the examinations.”

“The final dates for the annual exams of Classes VI-VIII and Classes IX and 11 are February 21 to 29 while the examinations of primary schools are scheduled to begin from February 16, he added.

Dehradun, February 7
Kumaon Cricket Club and Brothers Club, Vikasnagar, won their respective matches during the ongoing 60th District Cricket League here today. In the first match, Kumaon Cricket Club registered victory over Rajender Tour and Travels by 95 runs. Batting first, Kumaon club scored 167 runs. Gajender and Tushar gave scintillating performance of 30 and 29 runs, respectively. For Rajender Tour and Travels, Pankaj took three wickets, while Virender, Sanjay and Mukul took two wickets each.

While chasing the victory target, Rajender Tour and Travels got all out for 72 runs. None of the batsmen could stand before the disciplined bowling of Kumaon club except Ankit who made unbeaten 40 runs for the team.

Meanwhile, in the second match, Brothers Club, Vikasnagar, won by nine wickets against CAU team. Opting to bat first, CAU scored 128 runs in 29.1 overs. Tony and Amit remained the highest scorers for the team with 62 and 19 runs, respectively. For Brothers Club, Sumit Nagar and Saad Usmani claimed three wickets, whereas Vikram, Shiva and Ravinder took one wicket each.

In reply Brothers team reached the target with nine wickets in hand. Openers Sumit Nagar and Saad Usmani scored 58 and 50 runs in 84 balls. For CAU team Tony took one wicket.

Tomorrow, two matches will be played: Shivalik A versus Petroleum B (SOI); Little Master versus Diamond Cricket Academy.

Dehradun, February 7
During the campus placement drive at Graphic Era University (GEU), “Ceasefire”, manufacturer of fire protection equipment, selected 14 students from the MBA course here today.

According to Prakash Chandra Barthwal, media coordinator, GEU, “A total of 106 students have been placed in the world’s renowned companies.”

The programme was organised on the premises of the institute, where a large number of students appeared in tests and interview.

During the selection process, the students underwent group discussion and interview. About 20 students qualified in the first round while only 14 could sail through the final round of the placement drive.

Chairman of Graphic Era University Professor Kamal Ghansala said, “Such an outcome is the result of hard work and full dedication of the students as well as the teachers. Due to the allegiance of our teachers and students, many students have also been able to be a part of such unmatched companies.”

Mussoorie, February 7
The much-awaited multi-crore sewerage project took off on Mall Road from Library Bazaar here today. Officials of the Pey Jal Nigam were present there to oversee the project launched to upgrade the age-old leaking drains that had not been repaired since Independence.

A JCB machine was also pressed into service to speed up digging work, which had to be stopped for a few hours after underground telephone cable lines were damaged in the process. The sewage pipeline was also damaged, resulting in the leakage of dirty water in the area. The Pey Jal Nigam staff was quick to repair the damage and the digging work resumed.

The nigam officials said they planned to complete the project on Mall Road up to March 20, before the advent of the tourist season, so that the local residents and the tourists did not face any difficultly.

Haridwar, February 7
The birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas was celebrated with gaiety and vigour here today.

Religious functions, kirtan and processions were organised at various places on the occasion.

At BHEL,a shobha yatra was taken out by the Sant Shiromani Shri Guru Ravidas Janmotsava Samiti, Uttarakhand, which after passing through Ambedkar Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Kadach, Ambedkar Chowk, Kathaira Bazar, Sharaffa Bazar and Guru Ravidas memorial gate, culminated at Guru Ravidas temple.

Religious functions were also held in other parts of the district, where people paid obeisance to the great saint.

Dehradun, February 7
St Joseph’s Academy defeated The Heritage School by eight wickets in a match in the Inter-council Schools Cricket Tournament here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, The Heritage School team scored 64 runs all out in 15.2 overs. Anubhav Vora was the top scorer with 22 runs. Shikhar took three wickets for 7 runs.

In reply, St Joseph’s Academy team scored 67 runs for two wickets in nine overs to win the match. Opener Lakshannd scored an unbeaten 39 runs.