Bus fare hike on cards
Dehradun, February 24
Transport Minister Surinder Rakesh has submitted a proposal for a hike in bus fares to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. The hike is expected to be between Rs 8 and Rs 10 in all categories.

Dehradun, February 24
The rosy picture which Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) officials are painting before the media about getting the approval from traders is far from true.

The relocation of Indira Market traders is becoming the most vexed issue day by day. The traders of various categories have begun making their own separate demands.

There is a section of shopkeepers who till now had been demanding registry of kiosks where they would be shifted for the time being in shopping complex on Rajpur Road till the new mutli-story mall comes up, but they have made fresh demands of registry of the shops at Indira Market as well.

Besides this, another section has emerged which is opposing the shifting to kiosks at all and demanding shops instead. They are saying so for the sake of security of their belongings. The matter is getting complicated day by day.

It is to be noted that the MDDA has proposed a plan to build a multi-shopping-cum-parking complex in place of bevy of shops which cover important places. Its one entrance open to Parade Ground and another opens to Rajpur Road. The shopkeepers

will be shifted to the Rajpur Road shopping complex till the new mall comes up.

This issues has been hanging fire for past two decades.

Vice-Chairman MDDA RM Sundaram refused from giving registry to traders though he talked of signing an MoU with traders over the matter to make the deal legal and authentic.

Those who are given first preference on shifting to first floor of the complex are some 118 shopkeepers who are being given 6x8 shops each, then second category of 41 shops of kiosk owners who got the decree from the High Court and 13 others are also being given shops on the first floor of 10x18. Then there is third category of 64 traders who are being given 8X12 size of shops.

The first category shopkeepers are somewhat happy with the relocation. Convener of the Indira Market Association Kuldeep Kohli said, “I am trying to reach a consensus among traders as I am also a Congress leader and trying to get the best deal possible.” Almost all 124 shopkeepers who have illegally occupied land are being absorbed as well and are happy of getting free shops in the mall.

It is the 41 kiosk owners who got the decree from the High Court and 13 others are among those who are most disgruntled ones. Neeraj Tandon, trader, said, “It is not for the first time. Earlier, Vice-Chairman Prabhat Kumar tried to dismantle our kiosks in 1997 but we first got stay and later a decree from the High Court. No one has got registry of 155 shops built by Prabhat Kumar in the market. We lost faith in the MDDA anymore.”

He demanded registry of these kiosk and those 155 shops before moving ahead with the project.

Gurbhej Singh, owner of 13 illegal kiosks and president of the Indira Market Association, demanded registry of the kiosks in Indira Market and of those at Rajpur Road.

Mussoorie, February 24
Encroachment on land belonging to the Tourism Department at Jharipani and Hathipaon here could lead to a major hindrance to development proposals planned by the department.

Local residents alleged that the silence of senior department officials on the issue was indicative of their involvement in promoting such encroachment activities in Mussoorie.

The department owns 19 acres at Jharipani, 57 acres at George Everest House and 127 acres at Park Estate. The land has been lying vacant for long, leading to open invitation to land mafia to grab it by constructing temporary sheds there.

Residents had been demanding that tourism activities should be started at the land, which would also help in creating additional destinations and enabling employment at the local level. However, several tea stalls have come up on the department land and many persons had also constructed temporary sheds there. Newly appointed member of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board Sandeep Sahni said the land belonging to the department was at prime location, where several projects related to tourism could be developed. He demanded that the department should take up this matter seriously otherwise the land at other areas would also be grabbed by land mafia.

Regional Tourism Officer Yogambar Gangwar, however, said he was aware of the encroachment at the said land and had also visited Jharipani a few days ago.

On encroachment issue in the Hathipaon area, he said the land there had been occupied by squatters, who had been removed and two guards had also been deployed there to avoid any encroachment in future. Gangwar further said an eco-park had been proposed at Jharipani and a centre of food craft at the Hathipaon land. He said the department would also renovate the Bhatta Falls and develop it for tourists.

Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar could not be contacted for his comment.

Dehradun, February 24
Governor Aziz Qureshi today declared open the first Rajiv Gandhi Inter-University Youth Festival, Uttarakhand, at Doon University amid celebrations.

It was a special day for Doon University as it has the distinction of being a host to the first inter-university festival of Uttarakhand.

In his inaugural address, the Governor said he could well recall the day in 1954 when India’s first Prime Minister had inaugurated a youth festival at Lucknow. “That day, he said he would to gift prospering and evolving India to the youth. Today, I would also like to gift the blossoming and growing Uttarakhand to all you young people here. Cherish it and help it develop more,” said the Governor.

He said he was thankful to Vice-Chancellors of the universities of the state who readily accepted his idea of having a festival like this. He called upon the young students from all universities to always remember the great sacrifices made people of Uttarakhand while defending their motherland during war times. “Always remember these sacrifices. Remember that in times of peace, we may sing and dance and participate in games. However, once our country is threatened, we must know how to keep away the tablas and tanpuras and use swords.”

In his extremely inspiring speech, Qureshi said India was a young country and was in the hands of the youth. “People above 18 years of age can vote and decide what kind of country they want India to become. We are grateful to Rajiv Gandhi, the late Prime Minister, who had an immense confidence in youth and wanted that the voting rights be given to those above 18 years of age.”

He said the government should ensure that funds were made available in the future to help this festival evolve into a national-level youth festival. He said scholarships should be given to the five best performers in cultural events as well as sports events so that they could further hone their skills.

The Governor, towards the end of his speech, called upon the students to raise voices if they wished the festival to be named after Rajiv Gandhi. With the consent of the students, the festival was named Rajiv Gandhi Inter-University Youth Festival, Uttarakhand. The Governor then unfurled the festival flag amid a cheering.

Earlier, Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Dinesh Aggarwal addressed the audience and expressed the hope that the festival would soon become an event of national importance.

“We have great confidence in our youth and the Sports and Youth Welfare Department will support them acquire better skills,” said the minister.

In his welcome address at the outset, Vice-Chancellor of Doon University Vinod Kumar Jain said it was a matter of great pride and honour for the university that it had been given the honour of hosting the first festival of its kind. “The inspiration and guiding force behind this is the Governor who gave us directions to showcase the rich cultural heritage of Uttarakhand. It was indeed a wonderful idea and we thank him for that,” said Jain. He said the response to the festival had been magnificent.

He also expressed hope that the festival would foster a spirit of friendship as well as healthy competition. “Life is full of celebrations. Let the spirit of the youth of Uttarakhand be celebrated this year and then year after year,” he concluded.

Registrar of Doon University BM Harbola, along with Vice-Chancellors of various state universities, was present on the occasion.

Performances at the inaugural function included Saraswati Vandana, solo songs, Garhwali dances and a dance from Jaunsar by students of Doon University. Sports events during the festival will be held at Doon University as well as Sports College, Raipur. The participating universities are Doon University, Uttarakhand Open University, HNB Garhwal University, Kumaon University, GB Pant Agricultural University, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Patanjali, Uttarakhand Technical University, ICFAI, UPES, Graphic Era University, Graphic Era Hill University, FRI Deemed University, HIHT University, University of Horticulture and Forestry and Himgiri Zee University.

A total of 1,900 students are participating in the gala event.

Dehradun, February 24
With increasing danger of accumulating wastes, especially e-waste, across the country, the Centre for Management Development (CMD), along with its academic partner, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), conducted a two-day residential management development programme on, 'Waste to energy --- environment friendly technologies", here yesterday.

The event was a huge success with highly valuable information shared by eminent experts in the field of e-waste management and waste to energy.

The distinguished speakers were Dr Ram Hamsagar, Dr Laxmi Raghupati, Dr TK Joshi, Dr SP Goel, Dr Nitin Endley, Dr Ankur Kansal, along with representatives from leading national and multi-national organisations.

Practitioners and experts spoke on how to establish a balance between generation, storage, processing, reuse and the disposal of solid waste (e-waste), legal aspects related to e-waste management as well as the customisation of various techniques for solid waste and e-waste management for sustainable resource conservation.

Arun Dhand, Director, Government Relations and Media Affairs, UPES, said the programme covered strategic planning and execution techniques for solid waste management and was an eye-opener on harmful impacts of current solid waste management practises on the environment, especially hazardous e-waste.

In the key note address, Dr Nihal Siddiqui expressed concern on the increasing amount of electronic equipment in the country. It was followed by a lecture by Dr Ram Hamsagar (Environment Health Safety Consultant) on his original contributions to EHS management.

Dr TK Joshi from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, talked on bio hazards and eco-friendly ways of biomedical waste management.

Various working models for e-waste collection and channelisation along with EPR were discussed in detail.

Dr Neeraj Rawat, Assistant Director, Centre for Management Development, said the centre regularly conduct management development programmes for the industry, practitioners and academia.

The participants also took an oath to be responsible citizens of the country and take every small step at their end to save the environment and make the earth a better place to live in. 

Mussoorie, February 24
The procedure for the election of the Mussoorie Traders’ Welfare Association began earnestly with the filing of nominations by the probable candidates today.

Three candidates in fray filled their nominations for the three posts of the Mussoorie Traders’ Welfare Association in front of designated election officer Dhan Prakash.

President Rajat Agarwal is in the fray once again as he also filed his nomination today along with secretary Javed Khan and treasurer Praveen Panwar.

Yesterday, the opposing party also filed the nominations for the same posts in the Mussoorie Traders’ Welfare Association.

Naresh Anand for the post of president and Rajiv Goyal for the post of secretary are in the fray against the existing post holders. The elections will be held on March 3 and the results will be declared the same day.

Haridwar, February 24
A 15-year girl from Gujarat suffering from bone cancer has been successfully operated on the tumour-infected leg by Dr BKS Sanjay, an orthopaedic surgeon of Dehradun.

He said the parents were not keen for amputation and came to him seeking advice.

“I told them that the limb could be saved only through an operation which was difficult and only after the consent of the parents it would be done,” he said.

After receiving consent from the parents, Dr Sanjay operated on the girl and removed a tumour weighing 6 kg.

The girl was now able to walk, said Dr Sanjay. 

Dehradun, February 24
The four-day IInd Inter-sectoral Tennis Tournament of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was inaugurated by state DGP Satyavrat at the ONGC tennis court here today.

Director General of Uttarakhand Police (DGP) Satyavrat said he was very happy to be present here on this occasion, more so as he was interested in sports. "I am very fond of tennis and have played this game for a long time," he said.

He expressed hope that the tournament would be played in the true sportsmen's spirit.

He said though it had been rightly said "may the best team win", what matters more was participation in the sport.

The enjoyment of the game should be the priority, the DGP added.

General Manager, Head Corporate Administration, ONGC, D Misra delivered the welcome address.

He said in line with the sports policy of the ONGC, the concept of the inter-sectoral sports meet was rolled out last year to organise events in six categories: lawn tennis, table tennis, football, cricket, athletics and badminton.

Seven teams from Delhi, western sector, Assam sector, eastern sector, Mumbai offshore, southern sector besides host headquarters are participating in the four-day tournament. The matches are also being played on knock-out basis.

Dehradun, February 24
Brothers XI, Vikas Nagar, defeated Doon Warriors by seven wickets in a match during the 61st Dehradun District Cricket League played at Survey Stadium here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, Doon Warriors scored 76 runs in 19.1 overs. Prashant was the top scorer with 26 runs. Shahrukh Khan took five wickets for 21 runs while Anand Chauhan and Shiva Chaudhary took two wickets each.

In reply, Brothers XI scored 79 runs for three wickets in 14 overs to win the match by seven wickets. Opener Sumit Negi scored 25 runs. Vikram scored 23 unbeaten runs.