Haridwar, May 15
Haridwar is famous worldwide as a religious centre, one with diversified culture. Little wonder the city is frequented by foreigners, and that too in large numbers. In the past few years, there has been a rise in the number of foreign tourists coming to Haridwar.

In 2006 as many as 11,774 foreigners visited Haridwar and in 2007 the number rose to 15,609. Last year the number increased by 2,245 to 17,854.

This year from January till April 30, the number of foreigners visiting Haridwar has already reached 6,090. The number is significant in view of the Mumbai terror attacks last November.

Yoga and meditation are major attractions for the foreign nationals. They throng yoga centres, ashrams and the world-famous Patanjali Yogpeeth in the city to learn yoga and meditation from experts. They also get to be closer to nature -- serene environs, green mountains and the flowing Ganga.

Also, Rajaji National Park situated in Chila amidst the bio- diverse Shivaliks is a popular destination. It attracts tourists as they get to encounter close to 300 avi-fauna species and a variety of mammals, including the Asian elephant, leopard, tiger, peacock and cheetal.

The park is a favourite destination of wildlife lovers from all over the world. Most foreigners use Haridwar as a base camp to visit Dehradun-Haridwar, Mussoorie and Garhwal hill stations.

The salubrious weather of Dehradun makes it an appropriate base for tourists visiting Haridwar, Rishikesh and the charming hill resort of Mussoorie. Tourists who frequently visit Haridwar are those from the UK, the US, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Japan.

Keeping in view the growing number of foreigners visiting the holy city, several hotels offer special packages keeping in mind the needs of foreign nationals, specially the cuisine and accessories.

While the sale, consumption and serving liquor is prohibited in Haridwar city, luxury hotels ferry them to nearby Raiwala or bars on the Dehradun-Roorkee highway where liquor is allowed.

The hotels also arrange for newspapers and magazines and information in Spanish, French, German and Russian to make foreigners more comfortable.

Tourist officer YK Gangwar says since these foreigner nationals are provided several facilities and treated well, they come back with even more tourists the following season. Valentina Myskina, a Russian, says: “Yoga is fast becoming popular with Russians. I was motivated to visit india by my college mate who visited Shanti Kunj in Haridwar last month and got to learn vedic culture and meditation

“Russia has seen turmoil after the breakup of the USSR in 1991 also due to the financial crisis, we come here to get solace and feel rejuvenated after performing yoga and visiting places like Haridwar-Varanasi and Rishikesh.”

A group of Brazilian tourists amazed at the cultural diversity of Haridwar said most in Brazil practised yoga and people there knew as much of Haridwar and Rishikesh as Mumbai.

Reneitta Raisina, a yoga trainer in Rio De Janeiro, honed her yoga skills in Haridwar. She said: “In cities of Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Salvador, there are various institutes conducting yoga classes, and to get to know more one wants to come to Haridwar to learn the intricacies of various yoga asans.”

Haridwar offers numerous ayurvedic massage and spa centres. A popular destination, Hotel Haveli Hari Ganga in old Haridwar, is full almost round the year as it is located close to Har-Ki-Pauri and the Ganga.

Another attraction is the facility of herbal and ayurvedic massages that it offers.

But lack of international infrastructure and facilities in the city does irk foreigners visiting here, as does the nagging beggars. The lack of a proper public transport only adds to their woes.

Anna Petrova, a national-level Russian athlete, says: “It’s quite arduous to travel as there is no efficient transport system and autos are too expensive.

“Public toilets and information centres are unseen in the city though on websites and tourism documents, they do illustrate these.”

Dehradun, May 15
Emergency ambulance services will be deployed at 18 key areas in the state. “A total of 18 ambulances will be placed at 18 key areas during the Kumbh Mela next year. “These ambulances equipped with emergency facilities and medicine, will be available round the clock,” said chief operating officer (COO) of the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI).

Prior to the deployment of ambulances, an awareness campaign will be launched to inform people about the emergency services on the Char Dham route.

“Our ambulance services are already running on the Char Dham route comprising Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dev Prayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Agustmuni, Guptkashi, Karnprayag, Chamoli, Joshimath, Chamba, Dhrasu, Uttarkashi, Badkot, Harsil and Hanuman Chatti,” said Anup Nautiyal.

The EMRI-108 is providing emergency services through its 90 ambulances across the 13 districts in Uttarakhand.

At some locations in the state, the emergency ambulance staff have covered several kilometres on foot catering to the distress call of villagers.

Not resting on laurels, the EMRI-108 ambulance services is aiming to provide relief to a total of one lakh patients by next year.

Still battling with poor infrastructure that makes connectivity difficult, the ambulance services have task cut out for them.

“As of now, we have saved at least 1321 lives and attended to a total of 53,948 patients. But next year we want to reach out to 1 lakh patients by broadening our area of reach and network,” said Anup Nautiyal, COO EMRI –108 ambulance services.

Ending speculation on the future of Hyderabad-based Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), Mr Nautiyal said that Ramalingam Raju had funded the services in his personal capacity.

As such the Satyam collapse and his Raju’s arrest had had no major impact, he claimed.

“As such, the Institute is now hunting for potential funders who will provide funds to the tune of Rs 40-50 crore.

“Piramal Health and the GVK Group may be roped in. A decision is yet to be finalised,” stressed Nautiyal.

Exactly a year ago,, emergency services were launched in Uttarakhand and slowly the services gained credibility and popularity.

It has been especially hard in remote regions where driving difficult is difficult in winter and monsoon months with poor visibility.

“Our Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) have been forced to come out of the ambulances and help drivers navigate through slippery paths.

“That is the level of commitment of our personnel.

“At some locations, the staff have covered several kilometres on foot to attend to the distress call of villagers,” said Nautiyal.

He said that due to poor connectivity at times the services may not have been able to reach at a quite few places,

“ In fact, when we can’t attend 30-34 patients due to poor infrastructure, it is a huge setback for us. In a way we would like to fill the gap here and in course of time we will do so,” he said.

The EMRI-108 is providing emergency services through its 90 ambulances across al the 13 districts of Uttarakhand.

On the the total expenditure incurred during the past one year, Nautiyal said:

“ The expenses incurred since the launch of the services is approximately Rs 22.50 crore, while Rs 10 crore is the amount incurred on one ambulance. “

Dehradun, May 15
The Sunday Wrestling show that occupied an important place among sport activities in Dehradun during the past 50 years is slowly losing its charm. For five decades, wrestling in the city has been held under the aegis of ‘Akhara Sheran Samiti’.

Wrestlers from far-off places in Uttar Pradesh like Meerut and Muzaffarnagar and from regiments in the military like the Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment and Dogra Regiment added to the charm of these wrestling bouts and drew capacity crowds to Parade Ground, the venue of the bouts.

“A capacity crowd of 5,000 people used to come to the Parade Ground to enjoy the wrestling matches irrespective of the scorching sun or pouring rain,” said Mahaveer Sharma, president of ‘Akhara Sheran Samiti’ since 1980 and the man behind the event.

Even the famous Indian wrestler, Chandagi Ram, had once visited Dehradun to witness these bouts. Wrestling in Dehradun began immediately after attaining freedom. For the initial three years, it was organised at Race Course but was later shifted to Parade Ground.

After the formation of the state, the popularity of Sunday Wrestling has dwindled significantly because of the absence of army wrestlers who have stopped participating after Dehradun was made the capital. The craze for wrestling is not over in the nearby areas like Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut. But the samiti has not been able to organise matches on a regular basis.

“For the past three weeks, our show at Parade Ground has been disturbed. The ground has become the central place for election rallies and discourses,” added Mahaveer Sharma.

“If you want a reputed wrestler to participate, you need to spend a good sum of money which we cannot afford,” said Mahaveer, who has been seeking financial assistance from various organisations but to no avail. There is no entry fee for the tournament. 

Dehradun, May 15
The police arrested one person, accused of vehicle theft and several incidents of loot, here today. The accused has been identified as Kapil, resident of Chander Nagar. The police has also recovered jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh from him.

SP (City) Pushpak Jyoti said in the wake of recent incidents of vehicle theft and loot, they had constituted special teams to nab the accused.

He said acting on a tip-off, cops had recovered some stolen vehicles from the Bypass area and Nehru Colony, but the accused, Kapit and Baiju, both resident of Chander Nagar, managed give the cops a slip.

Subsequently, under the headship of Circle Officer Dalanwala Police Station, a team comprising Station Officer Nehru Colony Rajesh Bisht and others was constituted to nab the culprits.

"Acting on a tip-off, one of the accused, Kapil, was arrested from the Race Course area on May 14. During questioning, Kapil confessed to his involvement in three incidents of vehicle thefts," he added.

SP (City) said on the basis of the information provided by Kapil, they have recovered jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh.

He said three accomplices of Kapil are still at large and police teams have been sent to arrest them.