Police begins self-defence courses for women
Dehradun, December 23
The city police today began self-defence courses for girls/women free of cost at the police lines. Around 70 women of various age groups came to register themselves and attended the first day of the training session at the venue. SSP Kewal Khurana announced the continuation of the course, batch after batch.

Yajna for speedy recovery of Delhi gang-rape victim
Dehradun, December 23
Praying for the speedy recovery of the Delhi gang-rape victim, members of Shaambhavi, a social organisation, gathered on the Shanti Kunj Vidyapeeth premises at Ballupur Chowk here today and performed a yajna.

Dehradun, December 23
It was a unique experience for 21 students and eight adults from eight countries to participate in the Round Square international project organised by The Doon School at Katapathar, 15 km from Vikasnagar in Dehradun, from December 8 to 22.

These students, during their project, built infrastructure at Maharaj Kumar Jagut Shamshere School at Katapathar. "Working with mud and mortar and putting in hard labour, these students built toilets, a playground, a retaining wall and other infrastructure for poor school students," said Ambiksh Shukla, coordinator of the project from The Doon School.

These 21 students from India as well as abroad came from St Phillips College, Australia, Westminister School, Australia, Markham College, Peru, Westfield School, UK, St Cyprians School, South Africa, Redford College, Australia, Brookhouse School, Kenya, Vivek High School, Chandigarh, Punjab Public School, Nabha, Mayo College, Regents School, Thailand, and The Doon School.

"It is a great experience. I have learnt more about different cultures and now I have new friends. I had a great time with schoolchildren at Katapathar school. I will never forget this time. I am sad that all these people I have met need to go back to their countries but I know we will remain in touch forever. This trip has opened my eyes and I am glad of it, as I see life in a different way now," said Francesca DeSouza Ferreira from Markham College, Lima, Peru.

Foreign students teach children at a Katapathar school in Dehradun district as part of the Round Square international project.

Round Square is a world-wide association of more than 100 schools on five continents and 25 countries sharing unique and ambitious goals. It was started by educational philosopher Kurt Hahn of Germany, one of the 20th century foremost revolutionaries in education who believed that schools should have a greater purpose beyond preparing students for college and university.

During the project, the students built four toilets and urinals, two each for girls and boys in the school. The soak pit was made using nearby stones and without using cement mortar for plastering and hence its expected life would be next 20 years at least. A retaining wall was also constructed to strengthen the entire building. A playground with equipment, a sandpit and a chain link fence enclosure for the safety of children was also constructed by the students. A jungle gym and a pair of swings were purchased from the contributions from students of St Phillips College, Alice Spring, Australia.

A total of 11 tables and 44 chairs were made using environmental friendly and cost-effective techniques. These were painted entirely by the Round Square team. The electrification and earthing of the entire school building was also done by the team.

"It is hard to put such an eye opening experience into words. I am still figuring out what this experience means to me. All I know is I have shared it with some pretty amazing people," said Julian McNamara from St Cyprian College, Cape Town, South Africa.

A small study was also undertaken to measure anaemia prevalence among schoolchildren and the haemoglobin level of all students was measured by Dr Lalpathlabs. The weight of the children was also measured. Then they were given one boiled egg daily for 3 weeks and their weight was again measured at the end. This was done keeping in mind the high prevalence of protein energy malnutrition which is very common among rural economically backward children

A dental screening camp was also conducted. Basic hygiene and the benefits of brushing the teeth was explained to all children and they were motivated to do it daily. The children were given medicines for deworming.

The team also established a computer centre with six computers with networking system.At present, the school has 55 students sharing three classrooms, three teachers and one support staff. The token fee averaging Rs 65 per child is adequate to cover approximately 50 per cent of the expenses and the salaries of the school. The remaining 50 per cent is borne by the family of the trustee who run the school.

In 2009, the trustees requested The Doon School to help for the benefit of village children and improving overall facilities and infrastructure for providing quality education to the children of surrounding villages. The Doon School started a project to improve the facilities in the school.

In January 2010, when the heads of Asia and Gulf region, headmasters and member of friends of Round Square came to Dehradun and on the proposal of the Headmaster of The Doon School, Dr Peter McLaughlin, director Sumer Bahadur Singh and all heads of schools very generously, happily and promptly agreed to adopt this school as a Asia and Gulf Regions project.

"India has changed my life and I will never forget the incredible people I shared this experience with," said Natalya from St Phillip College, Australia, at the conclusion of the project.

Dehradun, December 23
Making a Difference by being different, a student-run association, today staged a protest at Parade Ground seeking justice for the Delhi rape victim.

Association members signed letters individually addressed to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna asking him to take steps to ensure safety of girls and women in the state. They also put forward suggestions to improve the civic arrangements in the city.

Led by Abhijay Negi, MAD members started a rally from Gandhi Park which after going through the city culminated at Parade Ground.

A large number of schoolchildren, who participated in the rally, having placard in hands demanded justice for the Delhi rape victim. They also sought stringent laws to ensure the protection of girls in the country.

The protesters who resorted to sloganeering also expressed dismay over delay on part of the Dehradun administration to implement the Supreme Court order for removing tinted films from vehicles.

They said the Dehradun administration must learn lessons from the heinous Delhi rape incident and take prompt measures.

While signing 300 individual letters addressed to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, the rallyists also raised the issue of the Right to Education. They said implementation of the Right to Education was still a distant dream for those residing in the slum areas of Dehradun.

Young volunteers protest against the New Delhi rape case as part of a campaign organised by MAD, a youth organisation, at Gandhi Park in Dehradun on Sunday.

Pledging to continue with espousing the cause of better sanitation in Dehradun, the MAD members also pointed out that that they had identified 15 garbage hotspots but no action had been taken by the administration so far. Significantly, President of the Industries Association of Uttarakhand (IAU) Pankaj Gupta along with Dr. Nitin Pandey from the Citizens of Green Doon, Sushant from the Doon Youth Centre (DYC) walked with the MAD volunteers in the rally expressing their solidarity with their cause.

Earlier, Mayor Vinod Chamoli reached Gandhi Park before the start of the rally and addressed the gathering.

He highlighted the steps which had been taken by the Municipal Corporation to deal with the improper garbage disposal system of the city and shared the sentiments of the MAD volunteers on the terrible tragedy which had taken place in Dehradun.

He advocated for the strictest possible punishment for the guilty.

MAD is an association of youngsters, primarily teenagers, working on various environmental and social issues facing civil society of Doon.

Since its formation on June 8, 2011, the MAD volunteers, who are still in school or freshers in colleges, have conducted social welfare activities every Sunday which include generating awareness about the dying streams of Doon and about the improper garbage disposal system of the city and sensitising the residents about the deplorable education standards of the children living in the 102 slums of the Basti.

Dehradun, December 23
The city police today began self-defence courses for girls/women free of cost at the police lines. Around 70 women of various age groups came to register themselves and attended the first day of the training session at the venue. SSP Kewal Khurana announced the continuation of the course, batch after batch.

Kewal Khurana said: “I had already planned such courses to train girls/women in self-defence techniques. Somehow, the timing of the course coincided with the national rage over the rape incident of Delhi, which has also highlighted insecurity among women over their safety. The thrust of the course will be to teach girls how to protect themselves in challenging situations and also to mount attack on the aggressors."

He was elated over the positive response on the very first day. “Some 70 females, in the 8-35 age group, reflected their enthusiasm for the course, which will be run by highly trained staff. We have decided to continue it rather than limiting it for merely 10 days,” he said.

The training will be provided for one hour from 3 to 4 in the afternoon. Circle Officer, City, Mamta Vohra, said: “The course is for one hour, but today, after seeing so much rush, we will

prolong it for two hours in two batches. The girls were enjoying themselves while learning the techniques.” She said the master- trainer would be the chief coach of the Indian judo team, Satish Sharma. He would be assisted by black belt in judo Anjana Rai and police personnel and national judo champion Ritu Joshi. She said Satish Sharma would give a demonstration of techniques, while the rest of the two and other female assistants would assist the trainees in following those instructions.

Satish Sharma,who had run several such courses under the Ministry of Human Resources, explained about the course under the city police. He said the course would be comprising three sections, physical fitness, nutrition and self-defence. All the participants, barring the age factor, would be taught about physical fitness and nutrition, whilst the young girls would be trained mostly in self-defence techniques, he said. “Physical fitness and nutrition is a must for every little girl. They actually need to be physically strong to be able to take on any act of aggression from attackers. Self- defence techniques involving attacks and defence from various angles will be taught to the participants.” 

Dehradun, December 23
Praying for the speedy recovery of the Delhi gang-rape victim, members of Shaambhavi, a social organisation, gathered on the Shanti Kunj Vidyapeeth premises at Ballupur Chowk here today and performed a yajna.

They also observed 'jal upvas' and prayed for the victim. Carrying placards, the members raised slogans and held a protest march against the heinous crime. They also expressed concern over the incident and demanded a severe punishment for all accused in the case.

Rachna Pant, head of the organisation, said it was a shame that women were not safe in the Capital and instead of providing safety to women, the government was indulging in mere lip-service. “The government should take proactive measures to provide justice to the rape victims without any delay,” said Pant.

She further said it was also observed that most of such incidents had occurred in the situation where men were in intoxicated state, hence the government should review its excise policy and mull curbing liquor sale in the country.

The children present on the occasion also presented skits spreading awareness towards women domestic violence. The protesters said stringent laws were needed to mitigate violence against women and the mindset of the male dominated society needed to be changed.

Dehradun, December 23
The Kanpur team won the Bankelal Shah Memorial Under-15 Cricket Tournament by defeating Little World by 7 wickets in the final match played at the Rangers College ground here today.

The Little World team from Dehradun won the toss and elected to bat first. The team scored 102 runs all out in 18.2 overs. Vikas with 33 runs and Lakshya with 30 runs were the top scorers for the team. Saurabh took 5 wickets for 14 runs while Shivam took 3 wickets for 15 runs for the Kanpur team. In reply, the Kanpur team scored 103 runs for 3 wickets in 16 overs to win the final match by 7 wickets. Opener Saurabh scored 47 runs while Shivam scored 29. Vikas of the Little World team was adjudged the man of the series as well as the best batsman of the tournament. Saurabh of the Kanpur team was declared best bowler of the tournament.

Dehradun, December 23
The Uttrakhand State Ice Skating team has been selected for the VIII National Ice Skating Championship to be held at Shimla from January 2 to 5. It will be organised by the Ice Skating Association of India.

The following skaters from different districts of state will take part in short/long track races, figure and ice hockey events. Girls - Yati Gupta, SJA, Priyakshi Thapa, Doon Blossom School, Kashish, CJM, Arikta, DPS.

Boys-Rishab, Sopta, Montesarri, Rajat Sharma, Aryan School, Abhishek Bhandari, KV(IMA), Anvarat Bist, SJA, Mohd Aqib, Brightlands, Vivek Sharma, Asian School, Siddarth Jain, Asian School, Jivaansh Gupta, Asian School, Neha, DPS (Haridwar), Anshul, SSHR, Rishikesh, Yash, Modern School, Mussoorie, Ansh Grover, Roorkee, Niklesh, DPS, Nainital, Manjeet, St Mary's, Udham Singh Nagar and Abhi, Marshal School.

The following officials will also accompany the team Anju Gupta, (F) Coach Asian School, Team Manager, Pradeep Chandra, Sr Warden Kasiga, Akash Grover, MIS, Chief Instructor, Gulab Chaudhry, Co-ordinater, Amit Goyal, Manju, Praveen Krishan, President, Ice Skating Association of the UK.

Dehradun, December 23
The host IIT, Roorkee, here today won the Indian Institute of Technology 48th All-India Football Tournament.

In the final, the IIT Roorkee beat the IIT, Delhi, 3-2. The match was decided by a penalty shootout after both sides were tied 1 after the end of stipulated time.

Earlier, for the third position match, the IIT, Bombay, clashed with the IIT, Hyderabad. The IIT, Bombay, won the match 1-0.

Technical adviser-cum-chief referee Virendra Singh Rawat coordinated the tournament. Tarun Negi, Surendra Payal and Rahul Kainthura were referees for the match.