'Vivek shobhayatra' to enter Haridwar on November 5
Haridwar, October 31
Revered philosopher and social activist Swami Vivekanand’s message, ideology, philosophy and works towards generating mass awareness will be showcased via a Rath Yatra in Uttarakhand. This is being done as part of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, who mesmerised the world at the 1893 Chicago all-religion convention. The procession has been aptly named "Vivek Rath Shobhayatra" in the name of the revered philosopher, who had visited Uttarakhand many times.

Insurance Co donates Rs 1 cr for CM’s relief fund
Dehradun, October 31
Chief Regional Manager, The New India Insurance Company, Dr Chandrashekhar Dimri, met Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at the Secretariat today and presented a cheque for Rs 1 crore for the CM’s relief fund.

Officials of The New India Assurance Co present a cheque for Rs 1 crore to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Scientific approach leads to successful walnut cultivation 
Dehradun, October 31
For once the Department of Horticulture has cracked the nut code by scripting a scientific approach for the successful cultivation of walnuts in the state. The beginning was made by providing grafted planting material to the farmers.

Anganwari workers want written assurance
Dehradun, October 31
Despite the announcement of a hike in their honorarium by the Uttarakhand Government, anganwari workers said today that they would continue with their stir till the government gave this in writing to them.

Interdisciplinary class presentation held
Dehradun, October 31
An interdisciplinary class presentation was held at Unison World School here yesterday. Students of various classes gave performances which were appreciated by the judges and the staff of the school.

Samarpan House wins Ist prize for Garhwali folk song
Haridwar, October 31
A one-day cultural programme was organised at Bal Vidya Mandir, Sector 1, BHEL, here today.



Students of Bal Mandir Senior Secondary School present Garhwali folk dance during a cultural competition  in Haridwar on Thursday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Fun, frolic mark annual day celebrations at Heritage school
Dehradun, October 31
Fun and frolic marked the 60th annual day celebrations at The Heritage School here today.

Doon club, Yamuna team play draw
Dehradun, October 31
The match between Doon United Football Club and Yamuna Football Club ended in a goalless draw during the Drona College 70th Nemidas Memorial District Football League here today.

Balaji Football Club, Adhoiwala team win
Dehradun, October 31
Two matches were played in the 3rd Jaideep Bhandari Memorial Football Tournament here today.





Players in action in a match during the Jaideep Bhandari Memorial Football Tournament in Dehradun on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Woman, two others held for drug peddling
Dehradun, October 31
The Rishikesh police today arrested a woman from Marine Drive, Triveni Ghat, and recovered 180 gram of charas from her possession.

70-year-old found murdered at Rishikesh
Dehradun October 29
A 70-year-old person was found murdered at Rishikesh after being allegedly stoned to death here today. The deceased has been identified as Boalsingh Kanyal, whose badly crushed body was found two kilometers from his house.

Police to act tough against gamblers
Dehradun October31
It may be a custom associated with Diwali. But the Dehradun police is in no mood to allow gambling in any form in the state capital.

Dehradun October 31
Mukhya Nagar Adhikari of Dehradun Municipal Corporation Ashok Kumar has blamed Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) for coming in the way of letting the work related to clearance of building maps to be handed over to the DMC. However, the MDDA officials have denied the allegation.

Ashok Kumar said, "Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had pronounced that the work related to giving clearance to building maps will be handed over to Dehradun Municipal Corporation more than six months ago. But his order has still not been enforced because of the pressure mounted by the officials of Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority."

He said it came to his notice that the MDDA officials had alleged that they should not be divested of this prerogative which came under their domain. He was of the view that the MDDA officials did not want to lose an easy medium through which they earned maximum revenue.

He said if the task related to clearance of maps was handed over to the DMC, then the corporation could earn enough money to spend on its development projects without having to look up to the Centre or the state for help.

But he expressed displeasure with the MDDA for becoming alleged stumbling block.

MDDA secretary Banshidhar Tiwari has refused the allegations saying that the MDDA officials had no role to play in the matter as it was the state government which had to take a call on the issue. He said if the government decided to give the right of map clearance to the DMC then the MDDA could not do anything about it.

It was a few months ago that the MDDA brought about e-governance in the field of map clearance where public could get the maps of their buildings cleared expeditiously online without the interference of middlemen. 

Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) secretary has refused the allegations saying that the officials had no role to play in the matter as it was the state government which had to take a call on the issue. 

Dehradun, October 31
Goods manufactured in China continue to flood the Indian markets, the latest being fire crackers that are being sold in the Dehradun market despite Centre’s advisory banning the sale of Chinese fire crackers.

Come Diwali and fire crackers' market in Dehradun is abuzz with activity. Interestingly, while inflation continues to soar, Diwali revellers' love for crackers has not diminished. This year too several shops selling Chinese crackers can be seen in Dehradun market.

While Chinese lights have already taken over the Diwali celebrations, the crackers from the country have also become quite popular in the recent years. Those buying Chinese crackers find them a little cheap and better than Sivakasi crackers.

Acting on the advisory of Union Home Ministry, state authorities have asked the administration to ban the sale of Chinese crackers. Sources revealed that the Chinese crackers contain certain substances that adversely affect health. All the district magistrates and police superintendents in the state have been asked to comply with the advisory.

As per Centre’s health advisory, manufacture, possession and import of any explosives consisting of or containing Sulphur or Sulphurate in itself or as a mixture with Chlorate of Potassium or any other Chlorate is prohibited in India. Chinese fire crackers have been found to have these very substances.

Significantly, some shopkeepers are desisting from keeping Chinese fire crackers. But still there are many who are keeping these. Abrar, a cracker seller, said that Chinese fire crackers like whistling sparklers, silver rain, flower-pots, etc, emitted more sparkles and had more colours than those made in India. It is for this reason that they attracted buyers. 

Dehradun, October 31
Money lying in donation boxes kept at the Piran Kaliyar shrine at Roorkee is getting soiled and unfit for use. Chairman of the Uttarakhand Wakf Board Rao Kale Khan said the Haridwar district administration was not opening the boxes.

“Only a few donation boxes were opened some months ago and lakhs of rupees were taken out of them. The money was not found in a good condition. A part of it was found soiled, moist and damaged as the boxes are not allowed to be opened,” he said.

Khan added he was worried about the money lying in other donation boxes, which had not been opened, as the currency notes in them could get soiled further.

He said, “Ever since my predecessor Rao Sharafat Ali was implicated in criminal cases and booked on the charge of siphoning off money from donation boxes, the district administration had been entrusted with the responsibility of opening the donation boxes in the presence of the representatives of the Piran Kaliyar shrine and the Uttarakhand Wakf Board. The currency notes taken out in the presence of the District Magistrate and others were in a very bad shape.

“The District Magistrate should have given orders for opening other boxes as well but he did not do so,” he said

Khan demanded that the donation boxes should be opened after a fixed period. Last year too, a lot of currency notes were found soiled and unfit for use. He said the shrine was thronged by a large number of Muslims and it received huge amounts of donation.

The Wakf Board chief said the donation money could be used to build infrastructure like schools and hospitals around the shrine.

He expressed concern that due to the negligence of the district administration the currency notes were getting soiled and the Uttarakhand Wakf Board was not allowed to interfere in the matter. 

Haridwar, October 31
Revered philosopher and social activist Swami Vivekanand’s message, ideology, philosophy and works towards generating mass awareness will be showcased via a Rath Yatra in Uttarakhand. This is being done as part of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, who mesmerised the world at the 1893 Chicago all-religion convention. The procession has been aptly named "Vivek Rath Shobhayatra" in the name of the revered philosopher, who had visited Uttarakhand many times.

Swami Nitya Shuddhanand Maharaj of Rama Krishan Mission Sewa Ashram, Haridwar, said the Rath Yatra would enter Haridwar on November 5 at sanctum sanctorum of world famous pilgrimage site Har-Ki-Pauri. The entourage will disseminate information about the birth, childhood, life achievements, philosophy, ideology, Chicago convention and different facets of legendary Swami Vivekanand.

Swami Nitya Shuddhanand Maharaj stated that they were targeting youths and students during this yatra as Swami Vivekanand always advocated that youths need to be drawn towards spirituality, work ethic, karma, yoga, morality and patriotism.

Vivek Rath was flagged off from Jharkhand on August 31 and the journey will conclude at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on November 20.

This procession will cover six states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and now Uttarakhand. “This is a great opportunity to celebrate as well as know the legendary philosopher in a simple and easy manner for younger generation. Swami Vivekanand’s teachings, life, struggle, philosophy and impact have a bearing on thousands of life and is one the personalities who changed the course of whole country” said Radhika, a city based writer who has written a book on Swami Vivekanand. — TNS

Dehradun, October 31
Chief Regional Manager, The New India Insurance Company, Dr Chandrashekhar Dimri, met Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna at the Secretariat today and presented a cheque for Rs 1 crore for the CM’s relief fund.

The Chief Minister thanked the officials and employees of The New India Insurance Company for having extended help to the victims of the disaster and urged them to speedily dispose claims related to the recent disaster in Uttarakhand.

Dr Dimri said 217 claims had been made related to the disaster before the company. Of the 140 claims at the Dehradun regional office, 102 had been successfully dealt with and Rs 2.80 crore had been paid out.

“Whatever claims made against the damaged houses, shops, cattle and vehicles received till July and August have been paid,” he said.

He said the claims pending owing to the lack of proof would also be dealt with once the required documents had been provided.

He assured the government that the company would adopt a village and two schools in the disaster-hit areas.

Dehradun, October 31
For once the Department of Horticulture has cracked the nut code by scripting a scientific approach for the successful cultivation of walnuts in the state. The beginning was made by providing grafted planting material to the farmers.

Despite being blessed with a favourable climate that consists of shorter winters and more sunshine, Uttarakhand lags behind Jammu and Kashmir, which is the largest producer of walnuts in the country.

English walnut or Persian walnut have been cultivated for many years in the state.

Though free of pesticides, the productivity of the walnut is still very low at 1.11 MT/ha in the state.

For this reason the horticulture department is working at supplying only grafted plants to the farmers under Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan States (HMNEH).

In order to increase the productivity of walnut in the state, thrust is on to improve the quality of planting material by establishing progeny orchards.

“The Department of Horticulture had imported 4,453 numbers of plants of eight varieties of walnut in 2007-08 from France.

The varieties include Lara, Fernor, Chandler, Franquette, Parisienne, Fernette, Meylanaise and Pronkwit. Around 4,453 plants were planted at government nurseries at Almora, Uttarkashi and Dehradun.

The performance of these varieties is still under observation,” said BS Negi, Director Horticulture Mission.

Similarly, the Department of Horticulture has also sourced mother plants of the latest varieties of walnut developed by Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture (CITH), Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

Under the HMNEH, there is a provision for providing assistance to farmers for development of new fruit orchards, including those of walnut.

“For this purpose, assistance is provided to farmers at 75 per cent of the cultivation cost of

Rs 40,000 per hectare for normal density planting and Rs 80,000 per hectare for high density planting,” said Negi. Besides, assistance is also provided for rejuvenation and replanting of old and senile orchards at 50 per cent of cost subject to the maximum of Rs 15,000 per hectare.

Due to intervention under HMNEH in the past one decade, area under walnut cultivation has substantially increased. In 2002-2003, the area under walnut cultivation was 3,230 hectare, while in 2011-2012 it has increased to 19,644 hectare, an increase of more than five times. 

Dehradun, October 31
An interdisciplinary class presentation was held at Unison World School here yesterday. Students of various classes gave performances which were appreciated by the judges and the staff of the school.

The students made efforts to convey their views and feelings on a particular subject. The Grade VIII-C students were the first to give a presentation on “The world we live in” and they spoke in detail on the topic. The students of Grade VIII-A informed the audience about the discovery of vaccines. The Group VIII-B students gave a presentation on global warming.

Haridwar, October 31
A one-day cultural programme was organised at Bal Vidya Mandir, Sector 1, BHEL, here today.

Participants held the audience spellbound with their folk dance and song presentations.

Samarpan House won the first prize for Garhwali folk song. Bengali folk dance presentation by Saksham House was adjudged the second and Sanskar House was declared the second runner-up for its Rajasthan folk presentation.

The chief guest on the occasion, Dr PK Sharma, stressed the need to know and imbibe the local dialect and culture.

Bal Mandir Senior Secondary School Principal KN Pandey said such cultural and extra-curricular activities were important for the overall development of schoolchildren.

Subash Kashyap, PGT, said students prepared with dedication for the cultural event, which reflected in their performances. The judges for the competition, Sadhna Jaitley and Alka Pandey, appreciated the students.

Dehradun, October 31
Fun and frolic marked the 60th annual day celebrations at The Heritage School here today.

The celebrations were the amalgamation of music and dance with students coming up with brilliant performances.

The programme began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the chief guest on the occasion, Cabinet minister Indira Hridayesh, followed by the presentation of the school's annual report by the Principal.

School president Avdesh Chaudhary presented a momento to the chief guest.

Ritik Gusain of class VI-D was given the running trophy.

Satyam Sangal, ISC topper of the school, received a scholarship of Rs 20,000. ICSC topper Amna Falak was also awarded on the occasion.

The trophy for the best house in academics was given to Saagwan House and the house also won the trophy of the best house in cultural activities.

The award for the best house in sports was given to Mandakani House.

Students of all classes performed on various styles of dance and songs.

Dehradun, October 31
Two matches were played in the 3rd Jaideep Bhandari Memorial Football Tournament here today.

In a closely fought match that was decided through a tiebreaker, Balaji Football Club defeated Eleven Star Football Club. The match ended in a 1-1 score during the normal allocated duration.

The match went to the tiebreaker in which Balaji Football Club trounced Eleven Star 3-0.

In the second match of the day, Adhoiwala Football Club registered a 1-0 win over Doon Challenger Football Club.

Shashank Mumgai scored the winning goal in the 27th minute for the Adhoiwala team.

Dehradun, October 31
The Rishikesh police today arrested a woman from Marine Drive, Triveni Ghat, and recovered 180 gram of charas from her possession.

The police said they arrested the woman on the basis of her suspicious activities. She was looking for prospective customers there. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against her.

In another incident, the Clement Town police, acting on a tip-off, arrested 23-year-old Nitin Kumar from Bail Road and seized 120 banned injections, 2,200 capsules of prohibited substance and 150 gram of charas from his possession. He has been booked under various sections of the NDPS Act. — TNS

Dehradun October31
It may be a custom associated with Diwali. But the Dehradun police is in no mood to allow gambling in any form in the state capital.

All the police station heads have been issued strict instructions to take stern action against those indulging in gambling during Diwali. In a bid to control the menace, police has already increased night patrolling to keep a vigil on the gambling activities. Notably, gambling is mostly done at night during Diwali.

The police has already alerted their informers and their network system to identify places that are notorious for gambling so that surprise raids could be carried out.

"I have given strict directions to all police stations to adopt zero tolerance approach towards all types of gambling in the city during Diwali", SSP Kewal Khuranna told The Tribune.

Most of the gambling dens are located at places like DL Road, Karanpur, Daandipur, Kawali and Dhamawala.

Many small hotels in the city allow such illegal activities during Diwali. The intensity of illegal betting also increases during this time of the year.

While requesting anonymity, a gambler said, "At a few gambling dens in Dehradun the volume of money put on a single round ranges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 Lakh and cash worth in many lakhs changes hands in just one night." "Our main focus would be to catch professional gamblers who become active during Diwali", said SSP Kewal Khuranna.