Mussoorie, January 3
The Mussoorie Forest Division has taken a unique initiative for promoting eco-tourism at Dhanolti, a popular tourist resort near this picturesque hill town. The move seeks to collectively address the conflicting goals of tourism promotion with ecological conservation and enhancement of livelihood opportunities for locals.

Under the aegis of the forest department, two ecological parks have already been established at Dhanolti (31 kms from Mussoorie). Two more parks would be completed by March.

Located amidst thick deodar forests, these eco-parks with serene nature trails, picturesque view and traditionally designed gazebos are a delight for tourists. Within the parks, ‘Van Shilp Kutirs’ have been established that offer locally made handicrafts and woollen items to tourists, while refreshment points provide tea, coffee etc. A nominal entry fee of Rs 10 is charged per tourist.

As many as 30,000 tourists have already visited these two parks - Dhara and Ambar - and a revenue of more than Rs 3 lakh has been generated during 2008. According to AK Banerjee, DFO, Mussoorie Forest Division, and the man responsible for this refreshing initiative, the total cost of the eco-parks has been borne by the forest department under their Forest Development Agency (FDA) scheme, but the revenues generated under the project are shared between the department (20%) and locals (40%), while the remaining (40%) is utilised for upkeep and maintenance of the parks.

Apart from providing a boost to tourism, this initiative has also significantly augmented the incomes of local people. “The members of the committee are earning up to Rs 3,000 per month while the incomes of other locals have also been enhanced,” said Raghuvir Ramola, secretary of Dhanolti Eco-tourism and Eco-development Committee (DEEDC), formed under this project. Waste management is being done through distribution of garbage bins to local hotels and daily collection and segregation is done by DEEDC.

According to Suresh Belwal, a member of DEEDC, “Within a short span, over 40 tonnes of garbage has been collected and Dhanolti has become much cleaner today.”

Project activists have also succeeded in removing encroachments from the reserve forests. “Mule owners, the primary encroachers, have been taken into confidence and are now working with the DEEDC.” An organisation of the mule owners has also been formed and sheds have been proposed for them.

“Today our environment has been protected and at the same time we have got good employment opportunities,” said Jaspal Singh, another member of DEEDC.

AK Banerjee said the project was initiated considering the, “Tremendous ecological damage that was being caused by unregulated and sporadic tourism activities at Dhanolti.” He said the reserve forests adjoining the habitation had become dumping grounds of waste and were also being encroached upon by locals, especially mule owners.

“Due to severe human interference natural regeneration in these reserve forest areas was practically nil, which raised serious concerns about their sustainability,” he said.

“We were not only moving towards an ecological disaster, but at the same time the growing filth was also a deterrent to tourism in the area,” Banerjee added. Consequently, in November 2007, the forest department organised a series of meetings with the locals for discussing the future possibilities. Based on the discussions, a detailed plan was prepared and the DEEDC, comprising local residents and forest personnel, was formulated for management of the entire project.

According to Banerjee, “The forest department has made all possible efforts to encourage peoples’ participation and decentralise the management of these eco-parks.”

Meanwhile, under the second phase of this project, two more eco-parks would be developed, which would also have parking facilities. Moreover, four bamboo huts (each with two bedrooms, attached toilets and kitchen) are also being constructed and would be made available to tourists at very nominal charges. Adventure sports such as mountain biking would also be introduced.

“We are also planning to introduce mountain biking for the first time in this region and for that we have already identified an eight km trail,” Banerjee said. He is quite upbeat about the future prospects of these initiatives. “Nearly 2 million tourists visit Mussoorie each year and we believe that around 10 per cent of them would visit our parks,” he said. 

Dehradun, January 3
Priyanka Negi, the girl who lost in the finals of the Indian Idol 4, has become the second person after Charu Semwal to participate in the show and bring laurels for the state. In Doon for a two-day visit, she was given a rousing welcome yesterday.

Priyanka, who hails from Dehradun, did her schooling from Andhra Pradesh, Dehradun, Agartala and is currently pursuing B.Com at the Sriram College of Commerce in New Delhi.

“I am extremely happy to be here. I will try to come back to this place soon to spend some quality time with my fans.” She said her journey as a singer started in 2007, when she managed to make it to the top 40 contestants in Indian Idol 3.

“Thereafter, I decided to try again and prove myself. I underwent special training under the aegis of my Guruji, Anirudh Pandayji, which finally helped me get through Indian Idol 4,” said Priyanka.

“It was disheartening to be eliminated from the list of final 11 contestants. But I have no regrets, as I have learnt a lot. With my family supporting me well, I hope to establish myself as a quality singer,” she added.

Talking about her experience in Indian Idol 4, she said, “I was there for five months and by now it was like another home for me. Throughout the show, all the four judges were very supportive and even felt bad when I was eliminated. But today I am receiving so much love from people of Uttarakhand that I am raring to excel in singing.”

“I want to be rich and famous and it’s my dream to be a playback singer. I have already signed a contract with Sony BMG for two years, and in case I get movie offers I will think about it. As of now, I only want to concentrate on my studies and singing,” said Priyanka. 

Dehradun, January 3
Chairpersons of various municipalities and nagar panchayats in the state are being devoid of any protocol despite being accorded first citizen status in the areas falling under their respective jurisdictions. 

At a meeting of heads of various municipalities and nagar panchayats held in Dehradun today, a majority of chairpersons while seeking implementation of the 74th constitutional amendment regarding urban bodies expressed strong resentment on being deprived of any protocol arrangements. Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli, at the very outset, admitted that protocol for chairpersons was the need of the hour so as to ensure that these elected representatives get the honour due to them and also in the larger interest of their working. He said it certainly made a difference as to whether a district magistrate visits a chairperson for an official work or vice-versa. “All along my political career, I have found that lack of protocol for elected representative of local bodies fails to put them on an equal footing with the administrative machinery,” Chamoli observed. 

A strong votary of empowerment of local bodies’ representatives, Ramnagar municipality chairman Haji Mohd Akram said the municipal chairpersons despite being public representatives found little respect with the administrative machinery. “There is a need to develop a mechanism where at least authority of the heads of municipalities and nagar panchayats gets recognized,” he said.

Talking on the same lines, Prem Ballab Bhatt, chairman of Gopeshwar municipality, and Shiv Prasad Sati, chairman of Joshimutt municipality said while legislators and other public representatives find mention in the protocol, there were no set of norms for representatives of local bodies. Buddhi Singh Rawat from Badkot said while MLAs and panchayat members were provided with some honorarium, there was no such provision for heads of municipalities and nagar panchayats. Some of the municipality chairpersons, including BS Chauhan and Jai Prakash Pandit, said the governments in power were not taking the local bodies seriously.

Dehradun, January 3
On the occasion of the 342nd Parkash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh, a nagar kirtan was taken out in Dehradun today. 

Led by the panj pyaras, the nagar kirtan started from Gurdwara Karanpur at around 1.30 pm. After passing through Survey Chowk, Kwality Chowk, Clock Tower, Paltan Bazaar and Dhamawala Bazaar, the nagar kirtan reached Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in the evening.

Students of various schools, including Sri Guru Nanak Public Women Inter-College, Khurbada, Sri Guru Nanak Public Women Inter-College, Race Coursea, and Sri Guru Nanak Boys Inter-College, Chukuwala, were part of the nagar kirtan and recited shabad.

Dehradun, January 3
The district administration plans to build an art and cultural activity centre at the site where the present district magistrate’s office stands. The DM’s office will be relocated to a new site on Haridwar road.

However, the proposal for the centre has to be approved by the state government. “The need to have an art and cultural centre, complete with a museum, art gallery, convocation centre, auditoriums and theatre was being felt by culture buffs in the capital,” said district magistrate Amit Negi.

The district magistrate’s office building would be demolished to make way for the culture centre. The DM’s office along with the District Judge’s offices, chief development office and social welfare department will be shifted to Haridwar road at the site of the District Jail premises. 

As many as 11 acres had fallen vacant after the district jail was shifted to Suddhowala. The new office establishments are expected to occupy eight acres. A part of the District Judge’s office has already begun its relocation to Haridwar road.