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City buses a source of inconvenience
Police officials booked on court order
Two illegally plying Volvo buses impounded
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No end to menace of beggars in city
Trendy Kanwariyas stamp pilgrimage with tattoos
Human activities increasing risk of calamities in Kedarnath: Study ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE: A view of the Kedarnath area. A file photograph
St George’s College wins senior division debate
11 ITBP jawans felicitated in Mussoorie
Beggars hinder the smooth flow of traffic at an intersection in Dehradun on Sunday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir
Akash is junior district TT champion
The winners of a table tennis championship in Dehradun on Sunday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir
8 bodies cremated at Kedarnath
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City buses a source of inconvenience
Dehradun, August 4 The problem is more prominent near Parade Ground, which is being used as a temporary bus stand. There are about 600 city buses plying on 13 routes. The buses running on the Clock Tower-Paraval, Doiwala-Parade Ground, Garhi Cantt-Parade Ground and Sahastradhara-Parade Ground routes mainly use Parade Ground as the stand, causing inconvenience
to the people. “The buses don’t stop at designated places. Instead they stop anywhere on the road to let passengers board and disembark, thus blocking traffic under the very nose of the police,” Sanjay Kumar, a commuter told The Tribune. Locals said the police had failed to resolve the problem despite several drives. A sustained drive could only bring the desired results, they added. Faulty locations of the bus stops are also posing a problem as the number of vehicles in Dehradun has increased exponentially in the last few years. Some bus stops are located close to busy roundabouts, thus adding to traffic congestion. “Bus stops near busy junctions render traffic lights useless as buses block roads for other vehicles even during the green light,” said Deepak Kohli, a local resident. Moreover, city bus drivers stop their vehicles in such a manner that they don’t allow people to board other buses. They leave little space for other vehicles to move, thus causing traffic snarls. “Drivers stop buses anywhere to take passengers without giving any signal. Often, other motorists are caught off-guard and they are involved in accidents with these buses,” said Samta, another
local resident. Though the traffic police and the Transport Department had given strict orders to the bus drivers to stop their vehicles at designated stops only, violations were still rampant. SP, City, Jagdish Chandra agreed that the city buses were causing traffic jams. He said, “At present we are facing a staff shortage due to the ongoing Kanwar yatra. We will streamline traffic and the movement of the city buses once the yatra
concludes.”
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Police officials booked on court order
Dehradun, August 4 Four doctors of Himalyan Hospital were reportedly going somewhere on July 2 when their vehicle hit a Vikram. This led to a scuffle between the doctors and the Vikram driver. On getting information, policemen from the Jolly Grant police post reached the spot and tried to pacify the two warring parties. The policemen alleged that the doctors manhandled them and tore their uniforms. Later, a police team led by Circle Officer, Doiwala, Swatantra Kumar reached there and arrested the four doctors. The doctors were allegedly under the influence of liquor and again misbehaved with the police team. The police took them for medical tests also. However, the doctors refuted the police charges and instead accused it of misbehaving with them and not registering a case. The doctors moved court, which ordered the registration of a case against five police personnel, including the Circle Officer, Doiwala. Meanwhile, the police Department has also instituted an inquiry in the issue.
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Two illegally plying Volvo buses impounded
Dehradun, August 4 Personnel at the ISBT police post received information that buses and small passenger vehicles were being run illegally from a private plot in the nearby area. On Saturday night, a police team, led by in charge of the ISBT police post Kuldeep Pant, raided the plot and impounded illegal vehicles. "We have increased patrolling during night hours to curb the plying of illegal passenger vehicles. People involved in such practise will not be spared," said Kuldeep Pant.
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No end to menace of beggars in city
Dehradun, August 4 They can be found at almost every busy traffic junction, especially at Darshan Lal Chowk and Prince Chowk, causing obstruction to the smooth flow of traffic. According to an NGO working in the field of child protection, the state does not have enough child care homes, where street children could be kept for rehabilitation. “Most of the child beggars in Dehradun have their families here. The police and the district administration have several times got them off the streets and sent them back to their families. However, their families, instead of sending them to schools, force them back to streets for begging to sustain their income” said Aditi Kaur of Child Helpline. According to information, Uttarakhand does not have its own child protection policy due to which there are no uniform rules to deal with this problem. “We, as citizens, are also contributing to this social menace by paying money to them thinking they will use it for meeting their basic needs”, said Aditi Kaur. Some NGOs like ASRA have been helping beggars to get them off the streets and sent them to rehabilitation centres for skill-training. However, combined efforts of the state and NGOs with a multi-pronged strategy are required to deal with the problem of begging. Another alarming issue is that most of the children involved in begging are struggling with drug and alcohol problems also. CO (City) Harish Chandra Sati said: "There was a proposal from the district administration to form joint teams of the police and the civil administration to identify beggars and put them in government-run centres. But the proposal had to be deferred due to the occurrence of the disaster in the state”. He said beggars should be removed from the streets on a priority basis and alternate arrangements must be made for their living. Photo on P2
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Trendy Kanwariyas stamp pilgrimage with tattoos
Haridwar, August 4 Though faith is intact, the way they come and carry the kanwar pilgrimage has become slightly trendy. So, be it the beautifully decorated kanwars that younger kanwariyas give more time, drawing attention of the onlookers or having inked trendy tattoos on their bodies.While kanwariyas chant Lord Shiva's name, they are also getting inclined towards having tattoos of Lord Shiva and other deities on their hands. It seems that the kanwariyas want to give a religious fashion statement as they attire in trendy T-shirts, depicting "Om", "Har Har MahaDev" and faces of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. As tattoos remain for a long time, the memories of their pilgrimage of Kanwar to Haridwar also remains etched. At the Kanwar market in Pant Deep, one can spot tattoo artists surrounded by kanwariyas waiting patiently for their turn, getting hymns and deity pictures inked on their body. Such is the craze that there is a shortage of tattoo artists even though more than a dozen such artists had arrived from Rajasthan, with their 'desi' tools. These desi tools may not look as stylish as that of designer tattoo artists, but their demand is no less as they give almost equal results. Kaushal Kumar, an artist from Udaipur, Rajasthan, has been daily inking hundreds of kanwariyas. He said that earlier such craze was missing, but with younger lot of youths coming, it's a whole different scenario now. "Youths want trendy tattoos related to religion and want to look different from the other kanwariyas," he said. "Our equipment may look ordinary, but we have been pursuing this craft for decades, and do near-precision inking. Last year, we did a good business and so now more and more artists are coming to the kanwar fair in Haridwar," said Kaushal. Along with this tattoo craze, kanwariyas are also seen thronging stalls of metallic ring inkers who carve names as per the customer's choice on rings. This way, kanwariyas get their loved ones' name inked, while ring inker get double profit: first kanwariyas buy rings and then the carving fees is additional. Bhupendra Singh, a kanwariya from Haryana with a cowboy hat, sunglasses and a camera, said that by inking indelible impressions of Lord Shiva, they get a more spiritual feeling. He said they would gift the name inscribed rings to their family members and friends.
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Human activities increasing risk of calamities in Kedarnath: Study
New Delhi, August 4 A team of scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology has warned that a rise in human activities around the area like pilgrimage and tourism would increase the risk of such disasters occurring in the future. Kedarnath is encircled by channels of the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers, which meet near the town. The study, led by scientist DP Dobhal, well-known for his work on the Himalayan glaciers, says overcrowding of people and constructions have obstructed the natural flow of the Saraswati, which now flows just behind Kedarnath town. Similarly on downstream near Rambara and Gaurikund, houses were constructed on loose soil, making them prone to natural disasters and landslides, it said. Dobhal, who has been named in the Time magazine list of 'Heroes of Himalayas' in 2007, said heavy rains on the June 16 evening flooded the catchment area of the Saraswati and the Dudh Ganga resulting in the overflowing of channels which triggered erosion and subsequent silting up in the rivers. This resulted in huge volumes of water along with loose soil and debris from glacial moraines forming a slush which moved with unprecedented energy towards Kedarnath town and washed off its upper parts where Sankaracharya samadhi, the Jal Nigam guest house and the Bharat Seva Sangh Ashram are located. "While reconstruction efforts are going on in the region, the government must ensure that construction should take place away from the temple at a safe location. Strict environment guidelines should be followed and a database of pilgrims climbing towards the temple should be maintained to avoid such mis-happenings," Dobhal told PTI. The study, co-authored by Anil Gupta, Manish Mehta and DD Khandelwal, says another factor was the collapse of Chorabari Lake because of the torrential rains on June 17, which contributed to the floods and washed away regions like Gaurikund, Sonprayag and Phata. The findings, published in the latest edition of 'Current Science', say that the collapse of the lake resulted from a heavy downpour between June 15 and 17. Heavy rains caused the snow-covered right basin of the Chorabari glacier to melt rapidly which resulted in the accumulation of water in Gandhi Sarovar, it said. The increase in the water levels and with no outlet, the lake was breached causing floods in the lower regions of Kedarnath. The area faced the maximum brunt of the floods and landslides but the eighth century temple and the sanctum sanctorum, however, are safe. Prayers at the shrine had come to a halt after the floods which caused a massive damage to life and property, especially in Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts. Though prayers will start at the shrine from September 11, the Char Dham Yatra will not be resumed before September 30, which is the deadline set by the state government for road restoration work in Kedar ghati, an onerous task considering vagaries of the weather. The torrential rains and subsequent floods in the Garhwal region on June 16 had claimed 560 lives and left thousands missing. — PTI
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St George’s College wins senior division debate
Mussoorie, August 4 The competitions were held in three
rounds in both divisions.
The four teams of St.George's College, Asian School, St Joseph Academy and Doon International emerged as the four finalists who contested on the topic: “Youth pageants do more harm than good to youth at large” in the senior division. The students spoke eloquently on the given topic and a session of rebuttal followed at the end of the debate for each participant. Earlier, a lively group discussion on topics such as “Modern day lifestyles of youth are a sure recipe for depression”, “Rapid urbanisation today is diminishing human values” and "Sports stars are positive/negative role models for youth today” was held in the senior division. Ayushman Chaudhry from St George College was declared the best speaker in the
Bro.CJ Bergin memorial gold debate in the senior division while Utsav Thapliyal stood second. In the junior division, the participants debated on topics such as “Letter Writing is a Dying Art”, "Childhood for Indian children is a lost dream”, “Injustice creates terrorism,” "The education system in India needs a massive overhaul” and "All disasters are manmade”. St. George's School was declared the overall champion in the senior division. In the junior division, Apaar Garg from St Mary’s Academy was declared best speaker in the Bro JG Masterson Silver debate competition, while
Aarnav from St George's College was declared second best speaker. Apaar Garg also won the best rebuttal award. St. Mary's team was declared the best team in the end.
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11 ITBP jawans felicitated in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, August 4
Recounting the rescue efforts, the jawans said at some places in Uttarkashi, they had to enter the houses through their roofs to rescue trapped occupants. Commending their efforts, the MP said the well-trained ITBP jawans were able to reach the disaster victims under difficult circumstances and amid heavy rains. The nation salutes them for their heroic deeds, she said. Later, addressing the media, the Tehri MP said it was due to the efforts of Army and ITBP jawans that thousands of people could be rescued. She flayed the state government for its nonchalant attitude towards rescue and relief efforts and said the government had failed to provide solace to the affected people even after over one month of the disaster. She said villagers in Uttarkashi were still awaiting relief from the government, which was nowhere to be seen. The MP said during her visit to Uttarkashi, she had directed officials to speed up the work of reopening linking roads, so that relief could reach the affected villages on a priority basis. Meanwhile, the installation ceremony for the new president of the club was also held on the occasion. Anand Singh Panwar was elected president of the Mussoorie Lions Club while Anita Saxena was elected president of the Lioness Club.
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Akash is junior district TT champion
Dehradun, August 4 Interestingly, both belong to Summer Valley School. Akash won the match convincingly with a score of 3-0 in his favour. Ashok Vasu, president of the Dehradun District Table Tennis Association, gave away the prizes to the winners and runners-up.He who was also the chief guest on the occasion of closing ceremony.
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8 bodies cremated at Kedarnath
Dehradun, August 4 The police has kept their DNA samples and photographs for identification. The team is camping at Kedarnath for the past few days.— TNS
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The blue-coloured city bus service has become a source of inconvenience than a facilitator to the residents of Dehradun.
After getting a tip-off about the plying of illegal buses near the ISBT, the police impounded two Volvo buses and seven small passenger vehicles last night.
New Delhi, August 4
Members of the Lions and Lioness Clubs felicitated 11 jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP) at a function held here yesterday.
Tehri MP Mala Rajyalakshmi Shah, who was the chief guest on the occasion, presented citations and awards to the ITBP jawans in acknowledgement of their heroic rescue and relief operation carried out in the disaster-hit areas of the state.
Akash Gupta won the Junior Boys District Table Tennis Championship after defeating Suraj Rana in the final match played at
Summer Valley School in the capital on Sunday.
