IPS, PPS officers transferred
Dehradun, October 7
In a minor reshuffle of IPS and PPS officers, the government on Monday transferred one IPS officer and three PPS officers. IPS officer Vimmi Sachdeva, who was stationed in police headquarters as SP, Crime, has been sent to Home Department as Additional Secretary. ASP, Rural, Dehradun, Mamata Vohra, has been transferred to police headquarters, whereas Jagdish Singh Bhandari, who is ASP, Haridwar city, will be the new ASP of Rural Dehradun.

Dehradun, October 7
Dehradun is already reeling under severe traffic jams and with the mushrooming of shopping malls in the state capital, the problem of traffic congestion has worsened in the last couple of months, especially near the malls.

The advent of the mall culture in the city is resulting in increased traffic woes, especially on weekends. Indra Nagar, ISBT Junction, EC Road and Jakhan have been the worst hit due to the presence of malls. Jakhan, which used to be free from traffic snarls, is now seeing an increased number of traffic jams due to the opening of a large shopping mall.

“The problem gets worse around 7 pm in the evening above Jakhan market and sometimes it takes more than 10 minutes to cross that small stretch”, Sujeet Yadav, a resident of Rajpur Road, told The Tribune.

The major problem is that people who come to shop in the malls prefer to park their vehicles outside the malls on roadsides, which causes traffic congestion.

Similarly, residents of Indra Colony are also facing the heat due to the increased level of vehicular traffic around their houses.

“We live in a residential colony, but it does not look like one anymore after the opening of the multiplex here. People park their vehicles outside the gates of our house instead of parking inside the multiplex parking, which causes problems for the residents,” said Shubham.

The presence of multiplexes, shopping outlets and eateries under one roof is drawing large crowds in the malls. They are proving to be a major hangout for young people. So acute is the problem that the police has to deploy towing vans near the malls to lift vehicles wrongly parked on roadsides.

“We have erected ‘No Parking’ boards outside the malls and police teams regularly issue challans to traffic violators,” SP Traffic, Pradeep Rai, told The Tribune.

He also said the police would speak to the managements of the malls to ensure that vehicles are not parked outside the malls.

Haridwar, October 7
Mukhya Nagar Adhikar (MNA) of the Haridwar Municipal Corporation Vipra Trivedi has come down heavily on the illegal occupation of the footpath stretch by some BJP councillors and their supporters.

Notably, this stretch from Bhagat Singh Intersection till Jwalapur railway road station was renovated under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission beautification project and is just adjacent to the main BHEL township entrance gate and Jawaharlal Nehru Youth Centre.

Since the past few days, a couple of traders who are close to local BJP councillors had put up their iron made vendor stalls at the roadside stretch above the nullah.While some had even put up wooden logs as symbol of their occupation.

But as the matter came into light with the MNA Vipra Trivedi, she visited the site today morning and directed removal of all such illegal and forcible occupancy at the stretch.Vipra also took strong cognisance of PWD officials' lackadaisical attitude in this regard as the illegal occupancy was going on for the past one week. Though 102 small-scale vendors whose commercial establishments were removed from Roadways-Chitra Talkies stretch as per directives of Supreme Court are to be allocated vending space at Jwalapur roadside.

But this has to be done by Municipal Corporation in a unanimous decision, but some local BJP councillors allowed their supporters to open up makeshift shops at this stretch. It is pertinent to mention here that at this very stretch a few months back the district administration had carried out a massive anti- encroachment drive and during Maha Kumbh 2010 a similar drive had taken place. But due to laxity by the local administration and infighting among civic body members, just few days after the drive temporary shops again mushroomed.

MNA Vipra Trivedi has sought explanation from Public Works Department for giving NOC to some of these vendors. Traders' representative Sanjay Chopra said that the civic authority should provide a proper authorised vending zone for the displaced small-scale traders and vendors. Traders, too, oppose this illegal occupation at the nullah stretch at the Bhagat Singh intersection.

Dehradun, October 7
State government employees, under the aegis of the State Employees Joint Council, today held a relay hunger strike here.

Office-bearers of the State Government Council participated in the relay hunger strike.

“During our meetings with the government, an agreement was reached regarding most of our demands, but we were disappointed as the government did not mention these in the minutes of the meeting,” said Prahlad Singh, president of the State Employees Joint Council.

Prahlad Singh said despite the government’s rigid behaviour, they had decided to give a few more days to the government to act upon their demands. “In case the government fails to fulfil our demands, we will launch an indefinite stir on October 16,” stressed Singh.

The relay hunger strike will continue till October 11.

Spokesperson of the council Arun Pandey said their agitation was in support of the demands of the employees.

The major demands include grade pay (promotion) for all field employees working in the state, removal of anomalies in pay scales of different departments, increase of retirement age to 62 years, LTC facility for all employees after three years, hill development allowance for all employees, including those of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar, absorption of employees of District Rural Development Authority in the state cadre, land for setting up office for the State Employees Joint Council, simplification of child care facility for female employees, remote area allownce for employees working in remote areas of the state and finalising of structure for the Department of Horticulture and Bandobast.

Mussoorie, October 7
Around 15 students from University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (US), under the field study tour programme titled ''Pitt in Himalayas'' trekked to Har-ki Doon valley in order to gain valuable knowledge about the region.

The group trekked to Har-ki-Doon, which is a broad alpine meadow in the upper most catchment area of Tons river, a primary tributary of the Yamuna and camped for several days and engaged in projects related to natural history in the valley spread across 953 sq. km, also known as Govind Wildlife Sanctuary, home to snow leopards, brown bear, blue sheep and many other species of animals, said director of the study tour and head of Anthropology Department, University of Pittsburg, Joseph Alter.

The students after returning from the trek to Har-ki-Doon in Mussoorie said that the experience of interaction with the culture and tradition of the Himalayan state was a magical experience for them.

Ellegra, the anthropology student from Pittsburgh University, with the study group said that they had been travelling in the Himalayan region and learning about the culture and traditions of the hill state up close which itself is a different experience for them. The students have come across many new aspects about the life of the region, thus gaining deeper insight learning about the region which they could not have done through books back home.

She further said that the students during their study tour so far have visited a number of temples and villages to understand the distinctive culture of the region. The director of the study tour and head of Anthropology Department, University of Pittsburg, Joseph Alter, said that as the part of the study tour the students had also visited Navdanya, an NGO-run in Dehradun by environemtalist Vandana Shiva and gained knowledge about range of activities such as organic farming, heirloom grain cultivation, credit cooperatives and women's activism. Students also visited places of worship and Sainji village near Kempty in and around Mussoorie, learning about village life and the work that Lori and Kunwar Chauhan, the locals of the area, are doing to promote elementary and middle school education as a key feature of rural development.

The students saw one of the largest hydroelectric projects in India, the Tehri Dam (260 metres of landfill), and learned about the ecological costs, benefits and risks of it. On the way back from Tehri students also visited a prominent local pilgrimage centre Surkanda Devi Mandir at Kaddukhal near Dhanaulti. The students also visited the various medicine centres and learned about ayurveda practice to make a comparative study with the modern medicine.

Joseph Alter further said that the whole idea of bringing the students from US was to expose them to spiritual, natural and cultural aspects of Uttarakhand and provide them an in-depth understanding of the culture of Uttarakhand. So far they were overwhelmed by the diversity and beauty of Uttarakhand. The students would go back and work further on what they have studied here, said Alter. The group of students is based in Landour Bazaar in Mussoorie and is on a university outdoor study programme to study anthropology, religious studies, geography, environmental studies, biology and literature and Hindi language.

Haridwar, October 7
Priyank Thapa of Chinmay College for Science (BHEL), Shivalik Nagar, has been elected president of the Students' Welfare Union, the elections of which were held here today. He defeated his rival, Anuj Kumar, by four votes.

The elections were held as per the norms of the Lyngdoh Commission with only class representatives being allowed to cast votes.

Pulkit Singh won the secretary post while Avdesh has been elected vice-president of the union.

College Principal Alok Kumar administered the oath to the newly elected representatives of the students' union.

He also welcomed the new executive body members and assured them of all cooperation and guidance in their working.

Former students' union chief Ankush Nirwa also extended his support to the newly elected students' body.

Shikha Gupta, BP Gupta, Dr Manisha, Dr AS Singh, Dr Alok Aggarwal, Dr Ajay Swami, Vikram Singh, Gyan Prakash Barthwal and Sushil Kumar were the election coordinators this year.

The newly elected members said they would try to live up to the expectations of the students and help bridge a gap between teachers and students.

Mussoorie, October 7
Even the inclement weather could not deter Rajat Chauhan, former student of Wynberg Allen School, to embark on his 125 km marathon race in honour of the alma mater that has given him quality education. He has undertaken the race to mark the 125 years of the school's existence.

Rajat Chauhan began his race at around 5 am from the school grounds today. The race was flagged off by the Principal of the school, Leslie Tindale, and the sports instructor of the school Champa ran along with Rajat Chauhan to a certain distance.

Several past students also joined him en-route in order to motivate him during his 125 km run. Rajat Chauhan passed through several friendly schools in Mussoorie during his run.

The race began from Allen School to Raipur via Barlowganj, Jharipani, Kolukhet, Kuthal gate and Orchid Restaurant at Rajpur and then back to Jaypee Hotel through the same route.

After a brief lunch period the race began again from Barlowganj to zero point at Kempty road via Kingcraig, Library Chowk, Waverly Convent, CST, Mussoorie International School and to zero point.

Rajat Chauhan will complete the race on October 8 by taking 125 km laps of the school ground to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the school.

Rajat Chauhan is an ultra-marathon runner and a sports-exercise and musculo-skeletal physician. He is the founder of the Back-2-Fitness chain of clinics that focus on getting people back to fitness and helping them perform physical activities at their optimum levels.

He considers the Himalayas as his second home, as he has spent more than a decade in these mountains organising several marathon events.

Speaking to The Tribune today he said: ''I was destined to be at Wynberg Allen and do all things that other kids did as well. But it was then choice to carry on with those learnings for life. I decided to carry on as most fellow students were forced to run, but soon enough it became a part of my life.

It was Champa, the sports teacher, who would almost cane you while running if you were coming last on your morning run. That made me run quicker and soon enough I realised that every fortnight, the top six finishers would win a Froosh drink (an equivalent of Maaza mango drink). So I would run to come sixth. Why put in the extra effort for the same prize?''

Chauhan left the school after the centenary year (1988) and realised that he was a far better runner than someone who should be content with just the sixth position. 
The very first half marathon (21 km) he participated in clocked a time of 1hr 29 min at the age of 16. Following that he ran Delhi University half marathon in 1hr 18 min when at the age of 17.

''I wanted to marry my profession and passion, so I ended up doing sports-exercise medicine from Nottingham University. Here my immediate tutor was Peter L Gregory, then Chief Medical Officer of England and Wales Cricket Board. He told me something amazing. ''Don't be shy and apologetic for being very good,'' said Chauhan.

The sports instructor, Wynberg Allen School, Champa, speaking about the efforts of the former students said that it is indeed pleasing to see someone excel in the field of sports and that, too, marathon. Champa further said that he had always believed that the sporting activity pursued in school also helped them improve their scores in academics. Champa himself a Wynberg student, after completing his degree in sports, decided to come back and teach the students in the school and continues to do so even now.

Mussoorie, October 7
Students from St. George's College of Mussoorie made the school and the state proud by winning 3 gold medals in the recently concluded 17th National Aquatic Meet-2013.

The championship meet was organised by Association of Schools for the Indian School Certificate (ASISC) on October 6 and 7 at Atul Vidyalaya, Valsad (Gujarat).

Around 260 participants from 10 regions all over India participated in the prestigious event. Kartikeya Pratap Singh and Chitipat were among the 15 members who represented the states of Uttarakhand and UP in the meet and brought laurels to the states by winning the overall championship in the senior boys' division.

Kartikeya Pratap Singh contested in the 100 m breaststroke event for senior boys and stood 4th in the competition. Chitipat contested in three events, 100 m free style, 100 m backstroke and 100 m butterfly and stood first, and won gold medals in these events. Chitipat was declared the best swimmer of the meet in the sr. boys' division. Both students are presently studying in class 12 in St George’s College, Mussoorie.

The guest of honour on the occasion was Miss Arunima Sinha, the first female amputee to climb Mt. Everest. After she was pushed out of the running train near Lucknow, she was run over by another train in which she lost one of her leg. But Ms Sinha took the incident in her own stride and reached the summit of Mt. Everest on May 21, 2013.

Principal, St George’s College, Christopher Dawes, and Vice Principal, Naveen Francis congratulated the students for excelling in the National Aquatic Meet and praised the sports secretary Christu and the swimming coach S.K. Ale for training the students. 

Dehradun, October 7
In the pre-quarterfinal match played here in the ongoing Sixth Shri Rohitash Singh Memorial Inter School Boys Super-8 cricket tournament yesterday, Doon Presidency School defeated Seven Oak School by 2 wickets.

After electing to bat first, Seven Oaks scored 27 runs at the loss of 1 wicket in the first inning and in reply, Doon Presidency scored 26 runs. In the second innings, Seven Oaks scored 37, runs taking the final total to 64 runs. Doon Presidency team successfully chased the total at the loss of 8 wickets and won the match.

St Thomas College trounced Summer Valley by 13 runs in the second match of the day. After being put into bat first, St Thomas scored 37 runs in the first inning, whereas Summer Valley managed to score 32 runs. In the second innings, St Thomas made 29 runs at the loss of 4 wickets. In reply, Summer Valley was bowled out at 21 runs and lost the match.

St Jude emerged victorious in its match against Colonel Brown with a massive margin of 34 runs. In the first inning, St Jude scored 36 runs and in reply, Colonel Brown was able to score mere 17 runs. In the second innings, St Jude School scored 37 runs at the loss of 3 wickets and Colonel Brown managed to score 22 runs and remained 34 runs short of the total.

In the last match of the day, Bala Hissar defeated Shiwalik International School in a bowl-out after the match got tied after the play of two innings. 

Dehradun, October 7
In the ongoing Drona’s Lala Nemidas District Football League at Pavilion Ground Dehradun here yesterday, Doon Star defeated Loco FC by 6-2. Kamlesh and Mirdul scored two goals each and Piyush netted one goal for Doon Star. Shobit and Rewike scored goals for Loco FC.

In the second match, Gorkha Boys defeated Chandarbani by 5-1. Anubhav opened the score tally for Gorkha Boys by scoring a goal at the sixth minute of the match. Varun scored the equaliser at the 34th minute for Chandarbani. But after that, Gorkha Boys players scored a series of goals. Anubhav scored 4 goals in the match for Gorkha Boys and Albert scored one goal.

The Adhoiwala Football Club defeated KVS Sports by 3-0. Vikas scored two goals in the match and Amar scored a brace for his team.

In the last match of the day, Dehra Eleven trounced NerhuGram 1-0. — TNS