The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

This 80-yr-old tree man won’t give up
SMA Kazmi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 6
It is a heart-rending story of a blind man in his eighties. The lakhs of trees that he planted in the last 70 years have been burnt down in the raging forest fires.

Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani, also known as “Vriksha Manav” is a broken man. It was his unwavering commitment to save enviornment that made him plant and nurture lakhs of trees in his native Pujargoan in Saklana Patti of Tehri district not far from Dehradun.

But last week’s raging forest fires have redused the lush green forest trees cultivated by Saklani into ashes. Since Saklani has lost his sight, he will be spared the agony of seeing the destruction caused to his green habitation.

Saklani had single-handedly regenerated the once barren hills in and around his native Pujargaon into lush green forests.

In his late 80s, Saklani started planting trees seventy years ago in and around his village in memory of his wife whom he lost to tuberculosis. His brother Nagendra Dutt Saklani, a veteran Communist leader, played a stellar role in the merger of the erstwhile Tehri state into the Indian Union.

Nagendra rose in revolt against the Tehri ruler and tried to capture the tehsil office at Kirtinagar on January 12, 1948, and was killed by troops of the Maharaja along with Molu Ram Nautiyal. Moved by their martyrdom, the people of Tehri rose in revolt against the ruler that finally led to the merger of the Tehri state with the Indian Union.

Vishweshwar Saklani has named his forest in the memory of his slain brother as “Nagendra Dutt Saklani Van”.

A tribute to his slain brother and wife, the task for Saklani was an uphill one.

People called him mad as he planted trees, reared them and protected them even at the cost of a quarel with his native villagers. He did not allow anyone near his plants. Engrossed in his passion for trees, Saklani raised 70 nurseries and planted more than 50 lakh trees, turning an area of 120 hectares into lush green forests.

Ranging from the rhododendron to his all-time favourite, the Himalayan Oak, Saklani planted a variety of trees. He believes that with Oak trees, water sources never dry up.

Saklani was opposed by villagers who thought that he was encroaching on common land and officials of the forest department registered cases against him. But he continued to plant trees with the court ruling that planting trees was no crime.

In 1986 he was awarded Indira Priyadarshani Award for his efforts to protect environment by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Since then he has received many awards and accolades, nationally and internationally.

But last week devastated him. He was told about the raging forest fires in the vicinity. The villagers’ love and regard for the man, who had created such magnificent forests for them and their future generations, propelled them to come together to douse the flamers. But nothing much could be saved.

Saklani insisted on visiting his plantations. Although distraught by the turn of events, he believed that rains will once again help the trees to grow.

Those who have grown up watching the tree man at work feel inspired by his dedication to the forests.

It’s time to stonewall smugglers’ activities
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 6
The gunning down of a wood smuggler yesterday followed by fresh skirmishes between smugglers and forest guards inside Rajaji National Park this morning amply reveals the growing interference of forest smugglers in the southern periphery of the park’s protected area.

The park authorities yesterday shot dead smuggler Suleman and nabbed two of his accomplices, Shamsher and Khushnood, as they tried to decamp with teak logs.

The incident occurred in the Dhaulkhand East range, where forest guards on patrol chanced upon 10 smugglers in the Seghali beat area. These miscreants had felled teak trees and were about to decamp with the logs when they were confronted by the forest guards.

The smugglers, who were armed with countrymade weapons, fired on the forest officials, who too fired in self-defence leading to the death of one smuggler. Only three days back, smugglers had felled another teak tree in the same Dhaulkhand East region but had to flee before they could take away the wood.

Incidents of forest smugglers coming into confrontation with forest guards are quite common in the southern part of Rajaji park, comprising the Dhaulkhand East and West ranges and the Chillawali range. These ranges have always been considered most vulnerable.

Sources say that villages in close proximity to these ranges - Rasoolpur, Bhagwanpur, Sighrohra, Jhabrera and Haldumajra- have been a safe haven for such criminals.

These smugglers are well-organised and operate in nexus with the police and politicians. A public representative of Sighrohra village has often been found hand in glove with the smugglers but has gone scot-free due to his police and political connections.

Safeguarding the park forests has not been easy. Several forest guards have lost their lives while confronting smugglers. In one such incident in 1994, two forest employees, Harpal Singh and Naresh, were shot dead when they challenged a group of smugglers.

While there have been regular incidents of tree felling, 2003 saw 150 teak trees being felled in the Rajaji park area by smugglers. Despite heightened vigil, the smugglers’ writ runs large in these areas.

A teak tree is high in demand for furniture. It is very costly. Hence, forest smugglers target these trees found in abundance in Rajaji park area.

During March this year, the forest department was taken aback when nine teak trees were felled and logs smuggled from the Motichur range area, just 100 metres from the Dehradun-Rishikesh-Haridwar highway.

The criminals are yet to be arrested despite officials taking all steps to ensure their arrest. With little backing from the police, the forest department finds itself helpless.

Admitting that it is a challenge for the Rajaji National Park asuthorities to check the smugglers, park director SS Raisialy says the department has time and again issued appeals to the people to cooperate with the forest department towards wildlife protection, but in vain.

Making matters worse, the incidents of forest fires have put the park authorities in a spot. While most of the field staff is engaged in keeping the park safe from such fires, smugglers find this time most appropriate to undertake their unlawful activities. But the forest guards have managed this time to check them.

Seeking stern action against the smugglers active in Rajaji, WPSI member in Haridwar, Rajendra Aggarwal, says: “This is for the first time that forest officials have gone on an offensive and shunned their defensive approach vis-à-vis the smugglers.” Aggarwal says the smugglers not only axe trees but also indulge in rampant poaching of wildlife.

After much pondering, the park authorities had some time back proposed a concrete wall across the southern boundary of the park. At present, there is a 5-km-long wall extending from Ranipur upto a kilometre ahead of Chirak.

A wall along a stretch of 30-km uptill Mohand is yet to come up. With high costs involved in the project, the proposal for a wall from Ranipur to Mohand (southern boundary) is unlikely to get completed in the near future. An estimated Rs 22 lakh to Rs 23 lakh is needed for constructing a kilometre of wall.

Park warden Gangeshwar Pandey says the authorities are on a vigil to thwart the designs of smugglers.

“While most of our staff is working round the clock to check forest fires, we still manage to keep a vigil on any unlawful activity in the southern areas of the park,” he claimed.

Russians take to Gayatri Mantra
Sandeep Rawat
Tribune News Service

Russian delegates with Dr Pranav Pandya at Shantikunj. A Tribune photograph

Haridwar, May 6
Decades ago showman Raj Kapoor weaved magic over the Russians with “Awara Hoon...” and “Mera Joota Hai Japani...”. Decades later, the Russians are mesmerised by the Gayatri Mantra.

Coming from St Petersburg, Rostof, Krishnodar and Volvagrade, several of them attended a seminar in Moscow today on “Working towards a new age in context of India and Russia and the magic of Gayatri Mantra”.

Russian experts in ayurveda, yoga, naturapathy, homoeopathy, oriental science and Hindi participated in the seminar.

The seminarians were particularly interested in the Gayatri Mantra. Dr Pranav Pandya, chancellor of Dev Sanskriti University, was the chief guest. He talked on the universal appeal of the mantra.

In February, a 50-member delegation of Russians led by rector Aavrana avisited Shanti Kunj. The delegates were so touched by the Indian culture that they decided to organise this seminar in Russia for the benefit of the local people. Dr Pandya was honoured and felicitated with a citation and a Russian shawl.

The Ugni Institute of Management situated at Krishnoder, which last year signed an agreement with Dev Sanskriti University, too emphasised on the benefits of collaboration.

Valentina Vladisova, a Russian tourist in Haridwar, said:“India has so much to offer whether on technology or yoga, space science or agriculture. This country is on the verge of becoming a super power ”.

Anastisia Panetta, a student of St Petersburg University, on a visit to Haridwar,chanted the Gayatri Mantra to near perfection.

She said those practising yoga in Russia recited the Gayatri Mantra. Dr Gyaneshwar Mishra, accompanied Dr Pandya to Russia.

He said Russian educationists had translated several books of Achary SriRam Sharma in Russian and thousands of Russians chanted the Gayatri Mantra everday.

Airtel launches MSC facility in Uttarakhand
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 6
Bharti Airtel, a leading mobile service provider, in order to ensure the best services for its customers has set up an exclusive Mobile Switching Center (MSC) for the state.

Airtel claimed that its new MSC facility, guarantees many convenient services like congestion-free network, faster call processing, higher GPRS / data speed for internet, 3G deployment capabilities amongst others.

Airtel’s MSC employs world’s most efficient and reliable state-of the art Ericsson MSS/MGW technology.

The MSC is a flexible and powerful service offering high traffic and subscriber capacity, and comprehensive service capabilities.

Speaking on the occasion, Rohit Gothi, CEO, Bharti Airtel, UPU, said, Airtel had always been a leader in offering cutting edge products and superior services.

Around the world the ability of a network to consistently deliver a high-level performance is the key driving force behind customer satisfaction.

At the same time, it positions us uniquely to participate in the on-going growth in this market. With dropping tariffs and increasing affordability, mobility is becoming a way of life, the state, much like the other mobile markets in the country, still has an immense potential for growth.

Airtel in Uttrakhand has 777 Sites covering 3,379 locations and 53.9 lakh population.

Airtel’s network is already available in most of the tourist destination in the region ensuring 100 per cent coverage and superior connectivity even in the tough hilly terrains.