Haridwar, August 8
With the holy festival of Eid-ul-Fitr falling on Friday, bringing curtains on the month of Ramzan, city markets today were abuzz with people buying commodities. Mosques at Jwalapur and BHEL have been beautifully illuminated and decorated on the eve of Eid.

At suburban Jwalapur, markets have been decorated beautifully by market associations. Colonies of Paodhoi, Maidaniyan, Kassaban, Lodha Mandi and Kotarban are abuzz with Eid festivities.

Such is the demand that advance booking of milk is being done. Milk is used in preparing sweet dishes like feni, kheer, seweian and other products.

Iqbal Ahmed, who has been selling sweet products for the past 55 years at Jwalapur, said that now sale of products had gone up in recent years.

Milk distributors have already booked in advance additional supply of milk from neighboring districts of Uttar Pradesh like Bijnor, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and from Dehradun's Kotdwar region, too.

Shahzad, who owns a milk dairy in New Haridwar, informed that additional stock has been stored, as during Eid there was high demand of milk products as they fetched good prices.

Uday Ram Semwal of Brijwasi Sweets, BHEL road, informed that this was the festive season. First it was Kanwar fair, and now it was Eid, to be followed by Raksha Bandhan and Shri Krishan Jan Masthami.

The administration, too, has made sure that synthetic and adulterated milk is not supplied during the festive season of Eid. Intense checking and sampling is being done by the police and the Food and Supplies department.

Meanwhile, people from the Muslim community can be seen buying new clothes, garments, ornaments and cosmetic products along with shoes.

At Kathaira Bazaar, shops of jewellery, bangles, cosmetics and make-up material catering to women folk witnessed a huge rush.

Tailors are working round the clock to meet the Ramzan Eid deadline. Such is the workload that many tailors stopped taking new assignments a few days back to meet the deadline of their previous booking orders. Tailors at Jwalapur road informed that family bulk bookings due to the festive occasion had doubled their workload and it was not only customers' clothes they had to sew but also of their family members, as it is considered auspicious to wear new clothes on Eid.

Dehradun, August 8
A shelter home for animals at Kedarpuram, which was built by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) 10 months ago, has not been used for the purpose till date and is lying locked.

Earlier, the DMC had decided to run it on public-private partnership mode, but it also failed to implement its decision.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli had also made tall claims of tying up with the state Animal Husbandry Department for the treatment of sick and injured animals in the shelter home.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has now requested the DMC to allot a building or a temporary shelter to it till tenders are invited.

Member of the SPCA Pooja Bahukhandi said, “ The SPCA has very less space to house the sick and injured animals. I have kept 20 dogs in my own house. Whenever I get information about such animals and spot them lying with infested wounds in the rainy season, I 
bring them home.

In such difficult times, I have implored the DMC officials to allot the animal shelter home which is lying locked for months together.” She said, her organisation would arrange for fodder, medication etc on their own and would not ask for anything from the DMC. She also suggested that if the DMC was planning to hold tenders to select the private bidder to run the premises in near future, they would vacate it at that time. Mukhya Nagar Adhikari, Ashok Kumar assured to think positively about the offer and asked her to consult the mayor as well. Mayor, Vinod Chamoli did not show much interest and said, the shelter home could not be given for a short duration. He said, it was due to the civic poll, not much work could progress on this issue. However, the reality is that the DMC Board cleared the proposal of shelter home in September last year. The Executive Engineer talked of holding first tenders in the month of October itself while the civic poll were held in the month of April, next year. It is due to apathy of the DMC, the stray cows keep lying in the middle of the roads blocking traffic. The menace of stray dogs also continue to haunt the residents.

Haridwar, August 8
Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, who is currently recuperating at Patanjali Yogpeeth under the guidance of yoga guru Swami Ramdev, has become an attraction for pilgrims, tourists and visitors in Haridwar.

The actress, who underwent cancer treatment in the USA, has made a few public appearances, wherein she hogged the limelight and media attention.

Manisha arrived at Patanjali Yogpeeth a week ago and her arrival was kept secret before she made a public appearance at the birthday function of Acharya Bala Krishan. The actress participated in the yagna-havan and hogged the limelight as people thronged the venue to have a her glimpse.

Enchanted by the spiritual-religious and healthy environment of the city, Manisha wishes to come to the city again.

In a brief chat with TNS, the three-time Filmfare Award Critics award winner actress said that after the congested lanes of Mumbai, she finds the hill state of Uttarakhand charming.

After attending the holy Ganga aarti at the sanctum sanctorum of Brahm Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, Manisha said she felt enchanted by the spiritual atmosphere, which is missing in the glamorous, busy world of Bollywood.

" The holy Ganga, devotees, sants, spirituality, natural surroundings and temples-- everything in Haridwar seems to be soothing. It's a diversified city. I have come closer to this part of the country for the first time. I want to come here again and again," said Manisha.

Dehradun, August 8
Kathgodam Express hit a Tanakpur depot bus at the bypass railway crossing in the wee hours today. However, no one was injured in the accident.

The train was moving towards Dehradun when it hit the bus that was on its way to Tanakpur from the ISBT, Dehradun, at 4.30 am. There were 20 persons in the bus, including the driver and the conductor, at the time of the accident.

According to information, Kathgodam Express had to make a halt 200 m before the railway crossing in the morning as its driver did not get green signal from the flag man at the railway crossing gates.

When the driver enquired about it, he found that the flag man was sleeping and he forgot to flash the green signal and close the gates.

Later, he flashed the green signal and the train started moving. However, the train driver spotted that the railway crossing gate has not been closed and a bus was moving towards the crossing.

On the other hand, the flag man claimed that he did not get any information about the train’s arrival from the control room.

In charge, bypass police post, Arvind Kumar said, “After spotting the bus, the train driver applied the emergency brakes, but could not stop the train from hitting the rear portion of the bus.”

Pradeep Chauhan, in charge, government railway police station, Dehradun, said, “Luckily, all passengers escaped unhurt.”

He said Railway Protection Force officials also reached the spot, who are now investigating the case.

Senior Section Engineer (Railways) SP Singh said, “The report of the preliminary investigation has been sent to the railway division and action will be taken against whosoever found guilty.”

Mussoorie, August 8
Andy Paula, alias Anindita Sarkar, a former teacher from Mussoorie, has come out with a 178-page e-novella titled “Love’s Labor”, published by Indireads, a Toronto-based publishing house.

Andy Paula, who served at St George's College (SGC), Barlowganj in Mussoorie, as Head, Department of English from 2002-2006, has made former President Dr APJ Kalam’s visit as a backdrop for her literary canvas.

Partly set in a hill school in India with vivid descriptions of Panchgani and Mussoorie and the small-town fears of Jamshedpur that are deftly woven into the narrative and gives the story its lilting flavour.

School principal Brother Christopher said she was the editor-in-chief of The Manorite, SGC’s Year Book, the house mistress of first Gateley’s and then Cullen’s, the moderator of the reading club, and actively involved in various co-curricular activities. Andy was spotted at a teachers’ conference in St Joseph’s School, Dehradun, by Brother Carroll, and made her transition from a Dehradun school to SGC in 2002. Andy, while speaking about her maiden venture, said it was a story of love and loss that is pitted against tradition and traces the journey of the modern-day protagonists in the face of stiff opposition. The anguish and the inability to break free from the rigid societal norms that forms the protagonists value system is the theme of "Love’s Labor". The book targets the south Asian audience and deals with the social fabric of the said diaspora. “The illogical deference to authority over one’s own pursuit of a dream is a thread that runs throughout this 178-page e-novella,” the author says.

She informed that the only hard copy of the e-book was presented to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam at his official residence recently. The 'missile man' expressed his delight at the concept of the digital format as it resonated with one of his visions of 2020-Save the Environment.

‘Good,’ he said, ‘you are saving trees’. “Dr Kalam was happy that as a nation, we are working towards a common cause,” the author says.

Love’s Labor, is formatted for all devices like smart phone, laptop and tablet, and can be downloaded from http://www.indireads.com/books/loves-labor/.

Andy Paula, 39, writing under a pseudonym, has done her MA (English) from Banaras Hindu University. After nearly a decade’s stint in the academia in Mussoorie and Dehradun, she transitioned to corporate training six years ago and is already working on her second book which would be out in the stands soon. Presently, the author is residing in New Delhi.

Dehradun, August 8
The door to door garbage collection has been affected in the town. With the downpour not abating for the past two days, thesanitation system has paralysed to large extent. The vehiclesof Doon Valley Waste Management (DVWM) did not go in most of the pocketsof the town. The garbage was seen splashed over the roads, flowing withthe rain. The stink was also pervading in the surroundings.

Councillor Satish Kashyap of Brahmpuri ward said, “People have started throwing garbage in vacant plots as well as on road sides. The garbage is flowing around with rainy water as well as with the movement of vehicles.” Councilor Ashok Kohli of Khudbuda ward said, it had become difficult to commute over roads which had become slippery due to mixture of mud and garbage. He said, people of the area were coming to him with their complaints but neither the supervisors on sanitary workers nor staff of the DVWM listened to him. Director DVWM Sidharth Jain is also out of town.

Mukhya Nagar Adhikari, Ashok Kumar took note of the situation and said, “It has become difficult for sanitary workers to work in this bountiful rain falling all the time. The work is bound to get affected. Nothing much can be done about it. However, as the rain stops, the workers will wrap up 
work swiftly.” 

Mussoorie, August 8
On August 10, the auditorium of St George's College (SGC) in Mussoorie will resonate yet again with the melodious sound of guitars and drums as more than a dozen schools will gather to compete in one of the grandest and biggest cultural extravaganzas of the region called “Milestone.”

The “Milestone”, an inter-school cultural rendezvous, began in 2000 with the objective of providing a creative platform to the school students of the region.

The head of the music department of St George's College, Naveen John Swynenberg, said that in 2000, Joseph, the senior English teacher, initiated the concept of a platform where all schools could participate in a friendly competition and showcase their talent and hone their creative skills, leading to their all-round development.

While sipping cup of coffee, he said that since then, the SGC has held the "Milestone" every year with a number of schools from Mussoorie and outside competing in various events such as: Western and Hindi music and singing, choreography, art and painting, photography, quiz, just-a-minute, 20 questions etc. This year, movie-making is a new event. Being the host school, the SGC makes it a point to participate in the non-competitive section to avoid any allegation of bias, says the Principal, Brother Christopher.

“Along with a couple of teachers and the active involvement of the music department, students are given a major part of the responsibilities to organize the show. It becomes a part of the training of these students as they learn about event management and sound engineering and gain experience of organising huge shows,” added Brother Christopher.

A student, Anurag, said that he was hooked to the guitar at the "Milestone" and his love for music has grown, which has also helped him in improving his score in mathematics.

“'Milestone' has brought a sense of camaraderie among the students and inculcated a sense of responsibility in them,” said Naveen John, the music teacher.

The performance by professional singers and an interaction with students adds to the colours of "Milestone".

Dehradun, August 8
Members of the Prantiya Raksha Dal (PRD) staged a protest at the Lansdowne Chowk here yesterday demanding regularisation of their services. They also sought setting up of separate organisational structure for the PRD on the lines of a battalion or a company.

They also demanded increase in the life insurance amount to Rs 10 lakh and a government job to a family member in case a PRD jawan dies on duty.

State president of the association of PRD jawans Pramod Kumar Mandrawal said the force must be separated from the Youth Development Department and the people belonging to Uttarakhand should be given preference in jobs in it.

Dehradun, August 8
Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar has given an ultimatum to private sugar mills of the state to pay the dues of sugarcane owners within 15 days.

At a meeting held with the sugar mill owners of Libberheddi, Iqbalpur and Laksar, he asked them to pay the pending amount of Rs 174 crore as soon as possible. He said the sugarcane farmers must get their dues for the crops. He also warned the mill owners that if they failed to pay the pending amount, the government would be forced to take legal action against them.

He directed the sugar mill representatives present at the meeting to design a roadmap for the payment within fifteen days and present it to the state government.

The Secretary, Sugarcane Development, SS Rawat, Additional Secretary Vinod Sharma and officials from sugar mills were present at the meeting. 

Dehradun, August 8
Avdhash Kaushal, chairperson of Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), a voluntary organisation, in a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has requested him to announce civil service award to Durga Shakti Nagpal, because she has proved and shown the way to the civil service officers to remain the “steel frame of India and not become the plastic frame of India.”

Kaushal wrote: ''As this is your last address to the nation from Red Fort on August 15, I request you to be brave enough in the interest of the Constitution to announce civil service award to Durga Shakti Nagpal.” This will motivate the civil servants to remain the steel frame of India and not become a plastic frame,'' he added.

Kaushal said that the transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law depends on a systematic arrangement between the three arms of the state, the executive, legislature and judiciary, a system of checks and balances, that ensures that the separation remains unhindered by counterproductive forces. The elected representatives like MPs and MLAs are subject to the impulses of rage, resentment, jealousy and avarice.

Dehradun, August 8
President of the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) Avadhesh Kumar Choudhury has announced a cash award of Rs 15 lakh for the Indian junior men volleyball team if they won a medal in the forthcoming FIVB Men's U-21 Junior World Championship to be played in Turkey from August 22 to September 1.

Ramavtar Singh Jakhar, secretary-general, VFI, said same amount of cash award would be given to the senior men's team if they qualified for the world championship.

The Indian Senior Men Volleyball Team will participating in the Asian Zonal Final Round Qualification Tournament to be held in Zhenzhou, China, from September 20 to 22, which will decide whether they qualify for the 
world championship or not. — TNS