D E H R A D U N    E D I T I O N

Doon’s Paltan Bazaar is encroachers’ paradise
Dehradun, November 19
Encroachments along city roads by shopkeepers and ‘rehriwalas’ have reached alarming levels, but the municipal authorities here seem to be turning a blind eye to this growing menace.

New courses at VLCC
Dehradun, November 19
Vandana Luthra Curls and Curves Institute of beauty, health and management yesterday expanded its academic offerings by launching correspondence and online courses 

Students of VLCC learn the basics of hair designing. A Tribune photograph

Haridwar primary schools sans teachers
Haridwar, November 19
Paucity of teachers in the city’s primary schools has not only become a major concern, but also affected the quality of education.

Play highlights plight of mother earth
Dehradun, November 19
As part of the golden jubilee celebrations of Maha Devi Kanya Pathshala Post Graduate College, the Avikal theatre group will hold performances from tomorrow. The artists and college students would stage a play titled “Prithvi’ (mother earth) and her present condition due to environmental degradation and pollution.

Participants of Avikal theatre group showcase their play ‘Prithvi’ at the MKP Girls College at Dehradun. Tribune photo: Anil P. Rawat 

World Heritage Day
Old records need care, say experts
Dehradun, November 19
It may not be long before manuscripts just fade away and heritage sites bulldozed by callous builders, if immediate steps are not taken for their preservation. This was the common concern of conservation experts, historians and educationists gathered to observe the World Heritage Day, here today.

Sharma commission to submit report on December 15
Dehradun, November 19
Justice Sharma Commission, looking into irregularities committed during the five years of the previous Congress regime, has extended the date of submission of documentary evidence of records related to alleged financial bungling in the department of employment and training.

3 held for ransacking church
Dehradun, November 19
Three persons involved in ransacking a church and attempting to burn religious books were arrested by police and presented in court, here today.

BJP cell protests rising fuel prices in two cities
Dehradun, November 19
The beopar cell of the BJP burnt an effigy of the union government in protest against rising fuel prices, here today. The protesters, led by the cell office-bearer Jaydutt Sharma, also submitted a memorandum to the President Pratibha Patil through district magistrate Amit Singh Negi.

House plan axed, trees spared
Dehradun, November 19
Under fire for cutting trees, Uttarakhand forest officials have decided against felling of green trees for the official residence of the divisional forest official at New Tehri township.

Inter-school athletics meet opens
Haridwar, November 19
A three-day 19th District School Sports Meet began at Jwalapur College today. In high jump, senior boys group, Mukeem from Khanpur bagged the first prize while Saurabh Saini and Sandeep Kumar were first and second runners up. In the 500 metres race, Sushil from Khanpur, Praveen from Lakshar and Suresh Pal from Narsan were the winners, respectively.

Jr Athletics C’ship
Himanshu gets gold
Dehradun, November 19
Himanshu Mahawal of Vikas Nagar today won the gold in 100 mts and 200 mts at the Junior Athletics Competition underway at the Pavilion Ground here. Vaibhav Sharma of K.V.ONGC clinched the silver and Arjun Pradrad of Lakshman Vidyalay the brozen in the 100 mts.

Shubam, Ankur bag judo titles
Dehradun, November 19
Shubham Sharma of Dehradun and Ankur Tomar of Haridwar have bagged first position in the below 65 kg and below 71 kg categories on the final day of the state-level judo championship that concluded at the Narishilp Mandir, here today. Results: Senior Boys

Judokas in action at the Narishilp School on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Doon’s Paltan Bazaar is encroachers’ paradise
Divya Semwal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
Encroachments along city roads by shopkeepers and ‘rehriwalas’ have reached alarming levels, but the municipal authorities here seem to be turning a blind eye to this growing menace.

With shopkeepers in almost all the markets occupying footpaths and presence of ‘rehriwalas’ in every nook and corner of the city, there is little space left for pedestrians.

The situation is worst in the ‘Paltan Bazar’, the main shopping centre of the city. Most of the shopkeepers in utter violation of Nainital High Court orders have encroached upon the pavements built few years ago. With parking for two wheelers on both the sides of the roads there is little or no space left for the general public and the buyers to move in the market.

The situation is aggravated by scores of ‘rehriwalas’ who keep moving up and down in this historic bazaar. This leads to a perpetual traffic jam during rush hours.

In the past eight years, there were many attempts by the administration to regulate the situation here, but every attempt has failed. The restrictions on entry of two-wheelers in the market could not be enforced nor a proper system of parking evolved.

Lack of parking facility for two-wheelers inside market causes endless problems for the public. “Whenever I come here I find no parking,” said Rashmi, a housewife.

Being one of the oldest and biggest market, the Paltan Bazaar has always attracted crowds in big numbers. “I mostly come here for shopping as this is where I get items at reasonable prices, but administration should take steps for better management of traffic here,” said Seema Jain, a boutique owner.

A few years ago, encroachments by the shopkeepers were removed and a pavement for shoppers was constructed. But now the situation is the same as before. Interestingly, shopkeepers have even sublet the area in front of their shops to roadside vendors and receive a daily rent for it. Worse, 75 per cent of them have displayed items outside their shops. “I have to be very careful while I am in the market as chances of accidents are high,” said Sita Devi, a senior citizen.

In the absence of any anti-encroachment drive, the situation has worsened after the festival season this year.

Ajay Singhal, municipal councillor and a resident of Arhat Bazar, admitted that encroachment was a big problem in Paltan Bazar. He is of the view that stern action was only solution to the problem.

“I only know how I manage the traffic at peak hours. It gets worst during weekends and during festival seasons. Removing encroachments will surely provide respite to the public,” said M.S. Bhandari, assistant sub-inspector, traffic police.

Even some shop owners want encroachments removed. “I am in full support of an anti-encroachment drive,” said Surendra Kumar, a senior Congress leader having a shop in the bazaar.

Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar, chief executive officer of the Dehradun municipal corporation passed on the buck. “It is only the Dehradun district magistrate who is competent to take action against such encroachments in the Paltan Bazaar area,” he said. 

New courses at VLCC
Divya Semwal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
Vandana Luthra Curls and Curves Institute of beauty, health and management yesterday expanded its academic offerings by launching correspondence and online courses in beauty, nutrition and dietetics.

Addressing a press conference here Dr. G.S. Kochar, director, VLCC Institute of beauty, health and management said, "We have dedicated the year 2008 to the development of VLCC institute in India and overseas and have embarked on an ambitious target to empower more technicians and churn out a vast talent pool for beauty and fitness industry. Four new courses are launched and we are looking forward to an optimistic future.”

The correspondence courses are structured as per the guidelines of DEC (distance education council) of government of India and lead to certification in each of the subject heading. The subjects covered are: nutrition and dietics, clinical nutrition, sports and fitness nutrition and child care nutrition.

Each is a six month duration course, through distance education, has four modules and at the end of the course is the final evaluation through two modes-online or offline for a cost of 5,500 including registration and tuition fee.

Such kind of courses opens up a lot of career opportunities for youth as the level of awareness in the masses regarding beauty and health over the years have grown in leaps and bounds. "Whether it's the high society people or hospitals, every other sector needs a professional in beauty and health industry,” said Dr. G.S.Kochar.

Haridwar primary schools sans teachers
Sandip Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 19
Paucity of teachers in the city’s primary schools has not only become a major concern, but also affected the quality of education.

The condition in all the three municipal corporations of the district, including Haridwar, Roorkee and Mangalore, is alarming and speaks volumes about the poor condition of primary education system prevailing in the state.

Haridwar city has 44 primary schools. Out of this, half of the schools have just one teacher. In Roorkee, out of the 19 schools, seven have only one teacher on duty. The worst is Mangalore town, where for 13 schools there is only a single teacher.

“The main problem is that for quite some time new teachers haven’t been appointed in the schools of the area,” said the district education officer R.P. Vishwakarma. He added that according to government policy one could neither directly appoint teachers from rural areas nor from the city.

Recently, the primary teachers also held a protest to demand increase in their pay and did not attend school for days.

“Is this responsible behaviour? On one hand there is only one teacher and on the other even they are not attending schools,” rued Anirudh Nautiyal, an ex-servicemen whose grandson studies in a primary school at Haridwar.

Play highlights plight of mother earth
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
As part of the golden jubilee celebrations of Maha Devi Kanya Pathshala Post Graduate College, the Avikal theatre group will hold performances from tomorrow.

The artists and college students would stage a play titled “Prithvi’ (mother earth) and her present condition due to environmental degradation and pollution.

“The play reflects the callousness of society, which is unable to protect the earth although there are some efforts made in this direction,” said Alok Ulfat of Avikal theater group.

Meanwhile, extensive preparations have been made for the two-week workshop. “Altogether 50 girls will be performing. A few of them are from the hills and we have held workshops with them so that they limber up and not lose their spontaneity,” said Shruti Ulfat, also associated with Avikal. 

World Heritage Day
Old records need care, say experts
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
It may not be long before manuscripts just fade away and heritage sites bulldozed by callous builders, if immediate steps are not taken for their preservation. This was the common concern of conservation experts, historians and educationists gathered to observe the World Heritage Day, here today.

“With the Right to Information Act in place, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) should take up the preservation and conservation of old records and diaries that need immediate attention,” said chief information commissioner Dr. R.S. Tolia.

He was speaking at the Archaeological Survey of India (science branch), where a world heritage week would be observed from today.

“Many manuscripts are lying with various organisations and departments that need immediate upkeep, otherwise several important records would be lost. People are interested in records and history,” Dr Tolia added.He further said that it was with the help of this branch that an old map of Almora was conserved. The map made by Lt Web and dating back to 1810 has detailed information about the city. He also spoke against the construction activity around the monuments, which needs to be stopped.

Shedding light on the activities of ASI in his address, Dr K.S Rana, director ASI (science branch), said after independence a comprehensive legislation known as the Ancient Monuments and the Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, was enacted. Under this act the ASI has declared over 3,500 monuments as centrally protected monuments of national importance. Out of these, UNESCO has listed 22 sites among the World Cultural Heritage Sites. P.N Onial, principal of Summer Valley School and the guest of honour said preservation and conservation activities gained tremendous momentum after the country gained independence. However, graffiti on monuments is commonplace despite an advertisement campaign against this.

Dr D.V. Sharma, superintendent archeology, Dehradun Circle, rued the lack of interest of the younger generation in this regard. “There is a complete treasure trove of ancient scriptures that needs to be discovered and studied, very few know that there is detailed description about water arrangement and engineering in our ancient texts,” he said. Former DG (ASI) R.K. Sharma said the “char dhams” should figure as National Heritage sites and later brought on the world map as world heritage sites.

The branch has also put up a photo exhibition on various Indian and world 
monuments. 

Sharma commission to submit report on December 15
Raju William
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
Justice Sharma Commission, looking into irregularities committed during the five years of the previous Congress regime, has extended the date of submission of documentary evidence of records related to alleged financial bungling in the department of employment and training.

The Commission had directed the secretary, department of employment and training, Kunwar Singh, to submit the written statement and related documents by November 18, 2008, but has now extended the same to December 15, 2008, while responding to the written request made by the officer concerned in this regard. In another case, the Commission issued directions to the principal secretary, disaster management department, to submit documentary evidence by November 21, 2008.

The enquiry into the alleged bogus purchase of equipment worth lakhs by the department was initiated on a complaint received by the Commission, informed its secretary Subardhan. As part of this, the department was asked to furnish details in the Commission’s office on various issues like budget allocation, date of receiving equipments, their parameters and number of firms, which submitted tenders.

In its poll manifesto before the state assembly election held in February 2007, the BJP had promised to investigate 56 corruption cases committed under the Congress government led by N.D. Tiwari. Six months after coming to power, the government constituted an enquiry commission headed by Justice A.N. Verma. Justice R.A. Sharma replaced him after his resignation in a year.

3 held for ransacking church
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
Three persons involved in ransacking a church and attempting to burn religious books were arrested by police and presented in court, here today.

Hindutva organisations had recently attacked the church in Chandrabani Choila village, which comes under Patel Nagar police station area, recently.

Three persons responsible for the attack were arrested and later released under political pressure from the BJP.

But after the Christians staged a dharna under the leadership of Congress leaders at the Gandhi Park, Lalit Saveria and two other persons were arrested.

BJP cell protests rising fuel prices in two cities
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 19
The beopar cell of the BJP burnt an effigy of the union government in protest against rising fuel prices, here today. The protesters, led by the cell office-bearer Jaydutt Sharma, also submitted a memorandum to the President Pratibha Patil through district magistrate Amit Singh Negi.

It is written in the memorandum that the “The government assured that when the prices in the international market would touch dollars 61 per barrel, fuel prices in India would be reduced. It is unfortunate that the prices have dipped to dollars 56 per barrel, but prices in India are still high.”

Meanwhile, in Mussoorie also BJP members staged a protest against rising fuel and cooking gas prices. Led by Virendra Rana, the BJP activists staged a symbolic protest at Jhula Ghar and shouted slogans against the Congress-led coalition government at the Centre.

They demanded that the government take immediate measures to bring down fuel and cooking gas prices.

House plan axed, trees spared

Dehradun, November 19
Under fire for cutting trees, Uttarakhand forest officials have decided against felling of green trees for the official residence of the divisional forest official at New Tehri township.

The decision was taken following reports in the media on the plan to fell 195 trees grown in a park.

The forest officials in Tehri are under fire for the felling of more than 1,000 pine trees allegedly in connivance with a private developer. The state government has suspended five forest officials in this connection. For building the official residence of Tehri Dam divisional officer at New Tehri, the department had chosen an entertainment park developed by it. The official residence was to come up in the park. More than 100 green trees were to be axed. — TNS

Inter-school athletics meet opens
Sandip Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, November 19
A three-day 19th District School Sports Meet began at Jwalapur College today. In high jump, senior boys group, Mukeem from Khanpur bagged the first prize while Saurabh Saini and Sandeep Kumar were first and second runners up. In the 500 metres race, Sushil from Khanpur, Praveen from Lakshar and Suresh Pal from Narsan were the winners, respectively.

In the girls category, Meenu (Lakshar) came first followed by Suman (Roorkee).

In the 3,000 metres junior race, Lohkush and Rohit from Lakshar stood first and second while Guddu (Khanpur) came third. In the junior girls, Punia (Lakshar) came first followed by Suruchi Chauhan (Bhagwanpur).

In the shot put event, junior girls category, the winner was Priyanka (Lashkar) followed by Rakhi (Narshan) and Shivani Sharma (Bahadrabad). In the boys category, Saurabh Kumar (Narsan) was the winner followed by Chandra Chanchal (Bahadrabad) and Rabbani (Narsan) as first and second runner up.

In the hammer throw, senior boys, Vineet Kumar (Narsan), Amit (Bhagwanpur) and Monu (Narsain) came first, second and third respectively.

In the girls section Reshu (Bahadrabad) was adjudged winner with Meenakshi Sharma and Monika Aswal both from (Bahadrabad) came second and third, respectively. In the senior 200-metre girls section, Radha (Narsan), Anju(Lakshar), Neelam(Khanpur) were the winners.

In the long jump, senior boys, Neeraj (Bhagwanpur), Trilokchand (Bhagwanpur) and Anil (Khanpur) were the winners. In the 400 metres senior boys section, Sandeep (Bhagwanpur) got first prize while Rajiv (Bahadrabad) and Rajkumar(Bahadrabad) came second and third, respectively.

In the girls section, 400-metre, Ashu Chaudahari (Roorkee) came first while Neelam (Khanpur) came second while Ekta Pundir (Bahadrabad) bagged the third position. 

Jr Athletics C’ship
Himanshu gets gold
Vishal Thakur

Dehradun, November 19
Himanshu Mahawal of Vikas Nagar today won the gold in 100 mts and 200 mts at the Junior Athletics Competition underway at the Pavilion Ground here. Vaibhav Sharma of K.V.ONGC clinched the silver and Arjun Pradrad of Lakshman Vidyalay the brozen in the 100 mts.

In the 200 mts Vaibhav Sharma of K.V. ONGC grabbed the second spot and Prem Prakash Sharda Public School was placed third.

Ram Singh of Gandhi Inter-College clinched the gold in the 400 mts, Kartikam Pant of Goverdhan Das Saraswati Vidya Mandir won the silver and Prem Prakash of Sharda Public School the bronze.

Ashish Bhatt of Goverdhan Das Saraswati Vidya Mandir clinched the gold in 800 mts, Tarun of K.V ONGC the silver and Deepak of Gandhi Inter-College the bronze.

In shot put, Rajmohan of JIC Dobhalwala won the gold, Vipin Bisht of Saraswati Vidy Mandir got the silver and Pareshwar Prashard of Lakshman Vidyalay Inter-College picked the bronze.

Vipin Bisht of Goverdhan Das Saraswati Vidya Mandir got the gold for discus throw, Pareshwar Prashard of Lakshman Vidyalay clinched the silver and Rajmohan of Gandhi Inter-College the bronze.

Vishal Shrivastav of Lakshman Vidyalay won the high jump event. Ankita Negi of Goverdhan Das Saraswati Vidya Mandir stood second and Sadanand of Lakshman Vidyalay was placed third. 

Shubam, Ankur bag judo titles
Vishal Thakur

Dehradun, November 19
Shubham Sharma of Dehradun and Ankur Tomar of Haridwar have bagged first position in the below 65 kg and below 71 kg categories on the final day of the state-level judo championship that concluded at the Narishilp Mandir, here today. Results: Senior Boys

Below 65 kg: 1 Shubham Sharma (Dehradun), 2 Ashish Rawat (Pauri)

Below 71 kg: 1 Ankur Tomar.

Senior Girls

Below 56 kg: 1 Prema (Udham Singh Nagar) and 2 Geeta (Udham Singh Nagar).

Below 65 kg: 1 Savita (Dehradun) and 2 Kamaljeet Kaur.

Below 71 kg: 1 Megha Sharma (Dehradun) and 2 Kamaljeet Kaur (Udhan Singh Nagar).

B’ Ball:

Heritage, Hilton enter semis Hilton and Heritage School have cruised into the semi-finals of the Junior Council School Boys basketball tournament. In the first quarterfinal Heritage School beat Aryan School by 14-12, whereas in the second quarterfinal it was an easy win for Hilton School. Hilton defeated Doon Cambridge School 14-8.