Dehradun January 11
Two cases came up before the city police today where seven children traversed long distance locations in the country, thanks to the negligence of their parents. Fortunately, the children remained unharmed and safe, and did not fall into the hands of antisocial elements.

Three city girls, Natasha (10), Karishma (12 ) and Archana (10), tired of their parents' scolding, left for Mumbai to become actresses in films. Kudos to the Vasant Vihar police for prompt action, whom the SSP rewarded Rs 2,500, the girls were intercepted on the way near Sahibabad, Ghaziabad. According to Station House Officer, Vasant Vihar, SS Rawat, the girls collected Rs 1300 from their respective homes and reached the ISBT and left for Delhi on Thursday. The parents of the girls had, meanwhile, contacted the Vasant Vihar police, who exhibited swiftness in the matter and searched for the girls at the ISBT and the railway station. On not finding them, the police then contacted the drivers of the buses that left the ISBT that day. The police came in contact with the driver of a Delhi-bound bus, who informed the cops that there were three young

girls in his bus. The police asked the driver to take the girls to Sahibabad police station. The police team recovered the girls at 10 at night. The girls were found exhausted after the long journey and cold weather and were also repentant for their action.

Haridwar January 11
The recent hike in railway fares by the Centre has not gone down well with the people in Haridwar.

Various parties and organisations have staged protests in the city in protest against the Centre’s decision to hike rail fares that was bound to break the backbone of the people.

A protest under the aegis of the Samajik Sena was held at Chandracharya Chowk at Ranipur in which saints, social activists and local residents participated. Demanding immediate roll back of the rail fare hike, state chief of the youth cell of the Samajik Sena Praash Sharma said Railway Minister Pawan Bansal had failed to live up to the expectations of the people.

“Instead of cutting costs, Bansal has hiked rail fares by 2 to 10 paise per kilometer, which will have a direct impact on the poor and the common man. Trains are the common man’s mode of transport but instead of hiking the first class AC and business class air fares, the Congress government has targeted the common man’s pocket,” said Sharma.

While district chief of the Samajik Sena Sanjay Sharma said Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned as Railway Minister following a train accident. Statesmen like Shastriji were concerned about the common man and had devised methods to lessen the burden on people. But today’s Railway ministers were catering to the needs of their respective states and high-end passengers, he added.

Similarly, BJP activists also expressed their resentment against the recent decision of the Railway Ministry. Divisional BJP chief of Haridwar city Vikas Tiwari said the UPA-I and II governments at the Centre had failed to replicate the governance model of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

“This government has been hiking the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG and railway fares but has failed to control corruption and inflation. Public anger will pour out in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 as was evident in the recent Gujarat Assembly elections,” said Tiwari.

The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal too condemned the railway fare hike and said it was another proof of poor governance. UKD central chief of the labour cell Uday Ram Semwal said while the rail fares were hiked, the ambitious Rishikesh-Karanprayag project was still on paper only.

Haridwar, January 11
The six-day-long International Yoga Festival concluded today at Patanjali Yogpeeth, Phase II, in Haridwar. Hundreds of yoga experts, practitioners, yoga gurus and scholars from across the country and foreign nations participated in the festival.

Vice Chancellor of Patanjali Vishwavidyalaya Acharya Balkrishan said that yoga was the basis of life and it had direct bearing on one's mind and body.

"From mind emanates thoughts, and thoughts propel human beings to act. So if we want to remove diseases from this world, the need is to train people in healthy art of yoga. Ailments will diminish themselves as yoga is the solution to all ailments and diseases," said Acharya Balkrishan.

The chief guest at the concluding ceremony, head of Shantikunj Gayatri family Pranav Pandya, pointed out that via yoga almost all diseases get cured.

Yoga had also no side-effects if practised in a proper way. That was why it was getting popular in Western continents, said Pandya.

He further added: "Our thoughts need to be spiritually inclined, and we need to behave like yogis. A whole new era of yoga-inclined world is emerging where scientific spiritualism has taken the seat. We can change Indian and foreign youths' vision by making them practice the art of yoga."

Yoga guru Swami Ramdev, who inaugurated the festival on January 2, was not present at the concluding ceremony as he was in Allahabad, Prayag, for the Kumbh fair.

Acharya Balkrishan, close aide of Baba Ramdev, who is also Vice Chancellor of Patanjali University, addressed yoga practitioners from 30 countries in the morning session.

He showed various asanas to the participants, emphasising on the positive impact on body of every move and technique practised in yoga.

Terming yoga as of immense benefit for having a sound body and mind, Balkrishan pointed out that now the world had realised the ancient art of yoga, and that was why in Europe, Asia and America yoga was getting popular.

Dehradun, January 11
A programme to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was organised at the Raj Bhavan auditorium last evening by Rajya Sabha member Tarun Vijay.

Speaking on the occasion, Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi paid rich tributes to Swami Vivekananda and stressed the need to live and work according to his philosophy, which is relevant for the entire world even today.

He said that the dreams and thoughts of the great Swami showed a new direction to society and his message was valuing and preserving our common heritage from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

“Impressed by Swamiji’s philosophy of a Vedanta brain and Islam body ,I am still in search of a Vedanta brain and Islam body,” said the Governor.

Haridwar, January 11
In view of the 150th birth anniversary of the renowned philosopher-thinker Swami Vivekananda, a committee has been formed to organise various events related with the anniversary function.

This committee will overlook various programmes and functions that will be held in the district from January 12 till next year.

Dr Yogendra Nath Sharma, coordinator of the committee, said, "The teachings and vision of the revered philosopher are inspirational even today and we need to propagate them to the masses".

District chief of the committee Rajeev Gupta said people falling under the 40 years bracket would participate in events like sports, essay writing, debate, quiz forum, youth parliament with a special look-alike Swami Shivanand dress up enactment.

For women, a debate will be hosted along with teenaged parliament for girls.

A mass awareness drive will also be carried out in Roorkee tomorrow, which will start from Ram Mandir, Ramnagar, till Ganga canal based Laxmi Bai Park.

Notably in connection with the 150th Birthday anniversary in the past, a special Vivekanand Express on wheel train museum had reached Haridwar which exhibited a large collection of rare pictures, writeups, teachings, life details, memorabilia, books, speeches, portraits and philosophy of the great visionary, particularly focusing on the younger generation.

Haridwar, January 11
Matra Sadan founder Swami Shivanand has expressed threat to his life owing to the ongoing agitation against the quarrying mafia in Haridwar district. Swami Shivanand, informing Senior Superintendent of Haridwar Police Arun Mohan Joshi, said the quarrying mafia had hired sharp shooters to kill him due to the anti-quarrying agitation.

The Kankhal police station took stock of the security arrangements of the Matra Sadan ashram at Jagjeetpur.

Meanwhile, an armed policeman was deputed at Matra Sadan ashram after assessing the threat perception. Additional security cover would be provided to the Matra Sadan founder. Aam Aadmi Party district member JP Baduni has asked the police to provide adequate security cover to Matra Sadan saints.

Meanwhile, Matra Sadan has demanded the release of agitating Brahamchari Poornanand Saraswati who is in judicial custody.

Dayanand Brahamchari of Matra Sadan, said if in the coming three days Poornanand was not released after waiving th charge of attempt to suicide, ashram saints would resort to another agitation. A demand of sacking Haridwar District Magistrate Sachin Kurwe and Secretary, Uttarakhand government, Rakesh Kumar has been sought by Matra Sadan for allowing quarrying in the two Ganga bed lots, Bishanpur and Bhogpur despite prohibitive order from the High Court.

The Uttarakhand government has once again issued prohibitory orders at two quarrying lots of Bishanpur Kundi and Bhogpur.

Dehradun, January 11
With an objective to educate the residents of Dehradun about road safety, Max Institute of Neurosciences, Dehradun (Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun), in association with The Think First India, organised an awareness walk and motor cycle rally in the city today.

The awareness walk and motor cycle rally was flagged off by Tarun Vijay, Member of Parliament, who was present during the entire walk. He thanked all people present for supporting this great cause.

The rally started from Ashley Hall and went on till Clock Tower, and then returned to the starting point. Covering a distance of around 1.5 km, more than 150 people took part in the walk. Keeping in view with its philosophy of caring for life, this initiative was aimed at showing people that one can have fun and excitement without compromising on one's safety.

This programme was initiated in association with ThinkFirst Foundation, a US-based organisation pioneering in head/brain injury prevention through education, research and policy. Max Institute of Neurosciences, Dehradun, has been chosen as the Indian Chapter of this renowned organisation.

Every year, nearly a million deaths occur in India due to accidents like road traffic injuries, falls, burns, poisoning, drowning, suicide, work place/occupational injuries, disasters, violence and others. Statistics reveal that over the last five years in India, there has been a steady increase in the number of lives lost in road accidents. Road traffic injuries resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths, 2.5 million hospitalisations and economic losses of about 3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in India.

These facts prove that injuries during road accidents are a major concern in India and there is an alarming need for specialised emergency care services in the country to address these serious injuries. 

Mussoorie, January 11
A Sufi song by an amateur singer from Uttarkashi depicting the pain of the Delhi gang-rape victim and women in general is receiving worldwide acclaim on youtube.

Singer Vicky Bhardwaj, who hails from Uttarkashi district, during a visit to Mussoorie said he was moved by the Delhi gang-rape incident and he recorded a Sufi song titled “Dard mera: call for women,” in the memory of the victim. He uploaded the song on youtube and it was an instant hit with 6,849 likes on youtube.

The song has been appreciated not only by the artistes from Uttarakhand but also by music directors of Bollywood. Vicky told mediapersons that his voice had also been liked in Bollywood and he had received a call from music director Anuj Garg in Mumbai for engagements in future.

He said his sister Kiran and younger brother Anuj, besides his friends Ashish and Anukampa Nawal supported him in the effort. The song was recorded in Srinagar and was uploaded on youtube on January 5.

Vicky said he was also considering highlighting the plight of hill women through his songs in the near future.

Eminent folk singers like Gajendar Rana have also appreciated the song and said Vicky’s talent would take him to greater heights in the field of music.

Dehradun, January 11
Twenty-three passengers were injured, four of them seriously, when the bus they were travelling in fell into a gorge at Chamba in Tehri district today.

According to sources in the State Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre, the bus on its way to Uttarkashi from Rishikesh fell into the gorge at Hadhamgaon in the Chamba area of Tehri district. The mishap took place around 9.30 am when the driver lost control over the bus while negotiating a sharp turn. Officials of the police and the Disaster Management Department rushed to the site of the accident to conduct relief and rescue works.

Among the 23 injured admitted to Chamba Hospital in Tehri, the condition of four is stated to be serious. The bus had 30 passengers, including the driver and the conductor, when the mishap took place.

Dehradun, January 11
A Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Kotwali police today apprehended two persons for betting lakhs of rupees during India v/s England cricket match. The operation was led by Circle Officer, City, Mamta Vohra.

The accused have been identified as Ajay Kumar Malhotra alias Vikki, resident of Park Road, and Anuj Chauhan, resident Khudbuda Mohalla. Vikki is Anuj's brother-in-law. The betting was taking place at Anuj's residence.

The police recovered an LCD, six mobile phones, two registers documenting the betting details and a cash of Rs 43,000.

While holding a press conference, SSP Kewal Khurana said the Gangster Act would be imposed on the accused. He added, "As the match progressed, the rate of betting too underwent changes. It was through the set-up box they would fix the rate of betting. They had links with people associated with betting in Saharanpur who were also involved during betting."

Vikki admitted that he had been indulging in the betting trade for close to two decades and had been booked under one such case in the past as well. He said he was operating a bulb factory which had to be closed down. He said he indulged in betting to pay back the debt of Rs 50 lakh. Sources in the police said the debt too was increasing while losing during betting. Vikki also influenced upon Anuj who claimed to be doing graduation.

It was after arresting three persons who were caught indulging in betting, the city police nabbed these two accused for the same offence.

Dehradun, January 11
Success Point Cricket Club defeated Street Star Cricket Club by six wickets in a match in the 61st Dehradun District Cricket League played at Col Brown School here today.

Street Star Cricket Club, after winning the toss and electing to bat first, scored 103 runs all out in 24 overs. Anas and Akshay scored 14 runs each. Mahender took four wickets for 14 runs.

In reply, Success Point Cricket Club scored 105 runs for four wickets to win the match by six wickets.

Mahender scored 35 runs while Kuldeep remained unbeaten on 29 runs.