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Another week before horses get trotting
Veterinary doctors treating mules at Gauri Kund in Chamoli district after the outbreak of equine influenza in horses and mules. Tribune photo: Anil P Rawat
This vacation, take to water sports at Assan |
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District Football League hits a hurdle
Maruti RITZ: 40 bookings on day one
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Another week before horses get trotting
Dehradun, May 16 For the first time on Saturday, no death was reported from Gaurikund. This came as a sigh of relief for animal husbandry department officials who had been working round the clock. Pilgrims take to mules and horses for covering the last leg of journey to the Kedarnath shrine that comprises a trek between Gaurikund and Kedarnath in Rudpraprayag district. “There have been no deaths today but we need to ensure that the horses and mules employed for ferrying pilgrims from Gaurikund to Kedarnath are provided much rest,” said Dr VP Singh, additional director, animal husbandry department. Doctors from Pantnagar Veterinary Hospital arrived at Gaurikund today and advised rest for the affected horses and mules. “Being a respiratory disease, it is important that these horses and mules get complete rest. They carry both man and weight and exhaustion can be detrimental to these animals. We have appealed to the owners to provide them adequate rest”, Dr VP Singh said. There has been a tendency on the part of the owners to continue using the ailing beasts for ferrying pilgrims and supplies for financial gains. Most deaths are attributed to this very fact. The animal husbandry department is not taking any chances. It has established 33 checkposts at various treks across the state to ensure that no affected horse and mule enters any of the treks. The Chief Minister and the animal husbandry minister have issued appeals to the owners to provide their animals complete rest. The Pashulok control room has in the meantime inoculated nearly 3,000 horses and mules. To put a complete check on the disease, the Uttarakhand government has imposed a ban on the movement of horses and mules by sealing the state’s boundaries, including one with Nepal, as equine influenza is considered highly contagious. The Uttarakhand government has kept other veterinary officers ready in case of spread of the disease to new areas. As many as 37 horses and mules have died of the disease in a fortnight. A total of 136 doctors have been deployed in Gaurikund and with the arrival of Pantnagar doctors, things are bound to improve. Uttarakhand animal husbandry minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the situation was almost under control and things were expected to improve in the next few days. As a precaution, the state department is allowing horses and mules into the Valley of Flowers and Yamunotri only after through examination and fitness certification. Horses and mules in Tawaghat, Joljeebe, Dharchula and Banbasa are also being monitored. Similarly, those hired for the Tugnath Chopta trek are also under strict observation. In the hill resort of Mussoorie, veterinary officials have collected samples from horses for any possible case in the area. The horses are frequently used to ferry tourists on the Mall Road. However, no case of influenza has been so far reported from either Tungnath or Mussoorie. Meanwhile, an NGO, Brooks, that has been working on the affected hoprses and mules has reached Gaurikund to assist the government officials in treating the animals. Mani Lal from Brooks said while the first line of treatment had been provided in the form of antibiotics, there was no substitute for rest. This influenza usually strikes in cold climes. Horses and mules in Amarnath had been afflicted with a similar strain of influenza in September and October. It would take some time before pilgrims can be ferried by horses and mules. It would be hard for owners to rest their livestock for more than a week as the animals are a source of livelihood for many of them.
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This vacation, take to water sports at Assan
Dehradun, May 16 GMVN is offering a five-day course in various adventure sports like water skiing, kayaking, double water skiing and mono-skiing. Their main aim is to popularise adventure sports among children. Satish Khanduri, in charge of adventure sports, said, “The GMVN began these courses a few years back and since then, the participation in the courses is on the rise. This year, we began our training in adventure courses in April and these will now continue till October.”Tourists have started pouring in for these courses. Recently, a group from Chandigarh underwent training at Assan Barrage. Further inflow of tourists is expected by May-end and June. The basic courses cost around Rs 6840 while intermediate and advance courses cost Rs 7,525. Khanduri said that this was the ideal time to undergo these courses as with the onset of monsoon in July and August, adventure activities in the region would come to a halt.
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District Football League hits a hurdle
Dehradun, May 16 The Pavilion Ground, where the matches are to be held, is unavailable on account of construction activity. This may force the organisers to wait for some more time. Dehradun Municipal Corporation authorities had recently sanctioned the funds for the renovation of the Pavilion Ground hall but the construction could not start because of the Model Code of Conduct. Now that the elections are over, renovation work is expected to start soon. Twenty-eight football clubs, which include some new clubs as well, that are connected with the District Football Association had been preparing hard for the league. DFL secretary Devander Bisht said, “We will try and hold the DFL this month. The association will call a meeting soon on the issue. At present, our priority is to finish all other preparations for the DFL that include issuing identity card to the players.” He accepted that if the construction work for the Pavilion Ground hall begins, then they will have to look for another venue for holding the league. “Shifting the league to another venue is not a big problem but it all depends on the Nagar Nigam. If it starts construction, then
we have to shift the league,” said Bisht. The association has seen other places like ONGC Ambedkar Stadium and RIMC ground for holding the league. Two years earlier, the association had to shift the league to Ambedkar Stadium as the Nigam authorities were preparing the ground.
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Maruti RITZ: 40 bookings on day one
Dehradun, May 16 The vehicle, put on display at Rohan Motors and DD Motors in Dehradun, was a centre of attraction for car-lovers whose queries kept the staff of both dealers busy throughout the day. Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha Speaker Harbans Kapoor and IG Police RS Meena formally unveiled it separately at both showrooms. Sales Head at Rohan Motors AR Rajan said all the customers who booked the vehicle so far were from Dehradun. But he expected more bookings from other parts of the state in the coming days due to increasing preference of customers for a compact and economy car in the middle segment. The car is available in five petrol and diesel variants.
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After rushing reinforcements at Gaurikund, Uttarakhand finally seems to be getting control over equine influenza that had hit horses and mules, putting the Char Dham Yatra in jeopardy.
Those interested in adventure water sport can now spend their summer vacation undergoing a training course at Assan Barrage,
Dehradun. The training courses in adventure sports offered by Garhwal Madal
Vikas Nigam (GMVN) has been receiving favourable response from tourists.
Dehradun, May 16
