The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Weathering the tourist storm
With the state being most vulnerable to sudden weather changes, which can at times endanger the lives of tourists, the Met department plans to install automatic weather stations at important tourist places and at 17 rest houses
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Pilgrims on way to Hemkund Sahib in Chamoli district. Tribune photos: Anil P Rawat

Dehradun, April 19
The annual Char Dham yatra is scheduled to start from April 27 with the opening of portals of Kedarnath Dham followed by Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

The yatra attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year. Around the same time, lakhs of tourists arrive in the state to enjoy its cool climes.

Since most tourist places are located in the hills, weather invariably remains a
topic of interest.

In order to strengthen the network of meteorological observatories in Uttarakhand for providing accurate weather bulletins to tourists and pilgrims, the Met department has begun a unique initiative.

A brianchild of Dr Anand Sharma, director of the Meterological Centre, Dehradun, the department plans to install automatic weather stations at important tourist sites.

“The state is most vulnerable to sudden weather changes which could endanger the safety of the tourists. So we decided to provide accurate and real-time weather information to them,” said Dr Sharma.

To overcome red tape, he met minister of tourism Parkash Pant and stressed on the utility of such a project and the resultant gain to the tourism sector.

Pant agreed to automatic weather stations at 17 tourist rest houses in the
state. These locations were given the green signal by the Met department
with headquarters at New Delhi and Pune.

Neeraj Semwal, chief managing director, and Jugal Kishore Pant, MD of the
government-run Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) gave the no-objection
certificate for installing these weather stations at 12 guest house of the nigam
that looks after tourism in the government sector.

The mandal has agreed to make space in its guest houses for automatic weather stations with special reference to popular tourist places.

“We have given the nod to the department and submitted names of the staff that would coordinate the project in different guest houses,” said Semwal.

Uttarakhand has a tremendous tourist potential and several important tourist places. But the fragile Himalayan eco-system poses many challenges and the extreme weather can play spoilsport. It could even pose danger to life and property.

Therefore, correct and timely location-specific weather forecast becomes important. For this, there was a need for a well-connected network of observatories.

Weather has in the past led to deaths of tourists coming to the state for adventure sports with the monsoon period coinciding with the tourist season.

In February this year, a group of college girls from Ghaziabad on an excursion to Nainital and nearby hills were caught in a snowfall. One of them died of cold.

The most tragic incident occurred in August 1998 when more than a 100 pilgrims,
including the famous dancer Protima Bedi, on their way to Kailash Mansarovar
were buried alive in the Malpa landslides followed triggered by heavy rainfall in
Pitthoragarh district.

Seven pilgrims to Hemkundt Sahib were killed in 2008 in an avalanche in Chamoli
district. In the past nine years, many mountaineers on trekking expeditions in the
Himalayas, particularly in Chamoli and Uttrakashi districts, have died due to sudden
change in weather.

Last year, two group of trekkers who were trapped in snow could be saved only because the Met department had issued warning to the disaster management department of the state government and a rescue operation with the help of ITBP personnel was launched.

A porter lost his life but all other members of the expedition were rescued. The recent tie-up between the Met and tourism departments on location-specific weather forecast will be of immense help to the tourists as well as pilgrims.

It will help tourists plan their holidays and timely advisories will help them evade unfavourable weather conditions.

The automatic weather stations will have display panels installed in lobbies of guest houses for the benefit of tourists. Five nigam guest Houses in Uttarkashi, four in Chamoli district, two in Rudraprayag and one in Dehradun will have these automatic weather stations.

Plans are afoot for weather forecast of important tourist places and disseminate it through the nigam website as also through phone.

The Meteorological Centre plans to issue weather forecast for those on the Char Dham yatra beginning this year based on existing observatory network and models.

Under another project, The department plans to have automatic weather stations in all 13 districts of the state.

As of now, six districts -- Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Nainital, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Rudraparag-- already have such stations.

It is also working on an automatic rain gauge in 26 subdivisions of the state. “We hope that these efforts will make Uttarakhand more safe for pilgrims as well as tourists,” Dr Sharma added.

IPL begins, so does betting
STF team arrests four punters from a hotel
in Haridwar on Saturday night
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, April 19
The police late last night conducted a raid at a hotel here and arrested four persons for betting on matches being played in the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) now under way in South Africa.

Among those arrested was a man out of jail on parole. A special operations group team nabbed the punters while betting Rs 50 lakh rupees on the inaugural matches between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings and between Rajasthan Royals and Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The police team recovered 50,000 cash in cash, cellular phones and several diaries revealing the entire network.

The IGP of Garhwal, MA Ganapathy, who supervised the operation, had directed STF’s inspector Harish Mehra and SI RB Chamola and SOG’s Aishwariya Pal to catch the punters red-handed.

Late into the night, when the second match of the IPL was being played, the special team cordoned off the hotel premise and entered Room No. 103 where the criminals were watching the match.

All bookies were busy attending phone calls with dozens of cell phones ringing
simultaneously. SSP Sanjay Gunjiyal said the police was probing the case to be
able to get to all those involved in the illegal trade.

STF official Yashwant Singh said the diaries and charts confiscated from the hotel room would be vital for further investigations.

The bookies arrested are Ajay Jayaswal, a resident of Ajitprasad in Dehradun,
Roshan Lal of Maliyan in Dehradun, Tarun Kumar of Bilkeshwar and Pappu of
Indira Basti in Haridwar.

A case has been registered against them. Members of the Cricket Association of Haridwar, in a statement, have expressed shock over the incident and demanded severe punishment for the arrested.

Insiders say the betting business operating from Dehradun goes right up to Delhi through local agents. It is there where rates are settled at the opening of a match.

During the course of the match, the rates keep fluctuating, depending on which team is performing better at that stage.

Artistes take audience back into time
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

A dancer performs pansara.

Dehradun, April 19
Throwing a challenge at each other, the drummers of Chanderabadni in Tehri Garhwal presented a performance, which was a part of a custom performed at the time of weddings in villages.

The Garhwali instrument players from bride and bridegroom’s side take the opportunity to test each other’s musical skills during the performance.

Performing at the SPICMACAY concert the drumbeaters recreated the entire sequence on stage, here at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA).

Called ‘Pansara’, the performance is a testimony to an old tradition in Garhwal, where the skills of the performing artistes, also called ‘dhol vadaks’ (drumbeaters), were rated.

“The friendly face-off between the ‘dhol vadaks’ results in medley of sounds leaving the audience in rapturous delight. It also signifies the prominence that artistes were accorded in society,” said Sohan Lall, exponent of dhol damoun, the main performer.

After the drumbeaters, the damoun player takes the center stage, followed by mashak been player and narsingar players.

Not only the costumes of performers are eye-catching, but the symphony created by the instruments and the energy of the players were also overpowering.

“Basically, the dhol and damoun are played during different ceremonies, but pansara performances add a traditional touch to the weddings. The modern day orchestra cannot compete with our traditional instruments and there is a need to bring them back in the mainstream society,” said Dr DR Purohit of HNB Garhwal University.

Yet another performance by dancers from Jaunsar Bawar area of Chakrata brought the culture of Tons valley alive on the stage.

Carrying torches the performers belonging to Maha Shiv Sanskritik Lok Kala Manch presented hanol dance.

The dance is popular in Jaunsar Bawar and is performed during Diwali. Villagers
carrying torches dance their way to the Mahasu Devta temple, the main deity,
of the area.

The dancers sing throughout the night, glorifying the virtues of the presiding deity. During the performance, the dancers danced to the tunes of Maya Nand Bijalwan.

Janainder Dhobal, member of the group, shed light on harul dance and said, “It is also called a warrior dance as it used to perform before the king and his army.”

Sherwood College wins quiz
Tribune News Service

Students of Sherwood College receive the RIMC All-India Inter-School Challenge Quiz trophy from Welham School principal Jyotsna Brar in Dehradun. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, April 19
Sherwood College, Nainital has won the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) All-India Inter-School Challenge Quiz with 78 points, followed by Welham Girls with 70 points and Oak Grove School with 64 points, respectively.

The participants from the Sherwood School were Harshit Kohli, Avash Shreshtha and Bilal Ansani. Jyotsna Brar, principal, Welham Girls School, awarded participation certificates to the teams.

The quiz was conducted across eight contested rounds, which included personality round, current affairs round, mind teasers round, science and technology round, ecology and environment round, audio round, video round and buzzer round.

The participating schools included Welham Girls, Mayo College for Girls, Ajmer, Scindia School, Gwalior, Rashtriya Military School, Ajmer, YPS, Patiala, RIMC, Summer Valley School, Dehradun, Sherwood College, Nainital, Welham Boys School, Oak Grove School, Mussoorie, Scholars Home Selaqui International, St Joseph Academy, Wynberg Allen, Marshall School, Doon School and Cambrian Hall.