Dehradun, July 28
The apex court’s decision to shelve the first flyover coridor for elephants over a national highway and railway line passing through the Protected Area of Rajaji National Park comes as a vindication of the stand of wildlife experts who had all along been very apprehensive of the success of the project.

The Supreme Court had recently allowed the National Highway Authority of India's prayer for constructing flyovers on the highway linking Rishikesh to Haridwar to allow elephants to go underneath while crossing from one side of Rajaji to the other side of the park.

Situated in the Shivalik hills of the outer Himalayas, Rajaji National Park located 5-10 km south-east of Haridwar is known as an ideal elephant habitat.

Welcoming the apex court decision, Dr AK Singh, Uttarakhand coordinator of the Wildlife Trust of India, said: “Expecting elephants to tread along the flyover would have been the first-ever experiment and risky. Its failure would have caused enormous damage and the corridor would have got blocked in the process.” It would be more feasible if the elephants were made to go through the underpass and flyovers were used for vehicular traffic.

As for the railway line, it was a problem too but it could be taken up separately. Eminent wildlife expert, Dr AJT Johnsingh had at one of the national-level seminars on elephant corridors in Dehradun expressed apprehension over the veracity of the first flyover corridor.

He had rather favoured utilisation of Motichoor Rau for securing this key corridor for the movement of pachyderms.

He had emphatically ruled out the possibility of flyovers being utilised for elephants.

“Even under-passes can at best suit smaller animals like the sambhar... The best way to conserve Chila Motichoor corridor is to secure Motichoor Rau,” Dr Johnsingh had pointed out.

Those among forest authorities that had been the brains behind the elephant flyover corridors had suggested making the environs atop the flyover more elephant-friendly.

But then the project would have involved crores of rupees and there was no certainty that the elephants would have accepted the new path.

NHAI advocate had sought speedy solution to the vexed issue of elephant flyover pointing out that the time was running out with the Ardh Kumbh in Haridwar next year attracting lakhs of pilgrims. During arguments, amicus curiae Harish Salve rejected the idea of a flyover for elephants and told the Bench comprising Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justices SH Kapadia and Aftab Alam that nowhere in the country had this been tried out and elephants, unlike smaller animals, could face problems in climbing the flyover.

The apex court decision to shelve the elephant flyover proposal will bring cheer to the NHAI authorities as now the flyover for vehicles alone would cost them much less.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand chief wildife warden acknowledged having knowledge of the decision but maintained that he was yet to receive a copy of the judgment and hence declined comment.The proposal for the elevated elephant corridor was agreed to by both the NHAI and the ministry of railways.

It included two elevated corridors separated by 600 metres, each of which would be 1.2 km long and 100 metres wide at the highest point and 300 metres wide at the ground level.

The decision has brought to an end the long debate over this ambitious first-ever elephant flyover corridor that had generated much interest among wildlife experts and others.

Mussoorie, July 28
Found commonly on the moist and shady slopes of Uttarakhand, the Dog Rose or the “Junglee Gulaab” is the wild cousin of the elegant rose.

The Dog Rose (Rosa Canina Rosaceae) is a thorny shrub that grows as a thick bush, often creeping over surrounding rocks and trees.

Unlike its cousin, the Dog Rose bears relatively small, oval leaves and the pink petals of the flower, which bloom in May and June, are rather scattered and less in number. However, the fragrance is the same as other rose varieties.

The pink petals are generally white at the core around the much bigger yellow hair of the angiosperm, which attracts honeybees.

The petals, when dried, give way to shiny red, pulpy, berry known as the rosehip, which contains the seeds. The tiny hair in the pulp can cause irritation in the tongue and the throat; therefore, children in the mountains carefully peel off the skin of the berry, which is sour in taste.

The birds and the langurs, however, enjoy the whole berry. The rosehip berry is an effective antioxidant and also a powerhouse of vitamin C, malic acid and citric acid.

According to writings in the Ayurveda, the rosehip is crushed and boiled in water to attain a syrup the intake of which is helpful in cases of common cold, mild fever, influenza and even in some cases of diarrhoea.

The fresh and tender petals are used in preparing several types of sweetening agents, pulps and powders, which are ingredients in many Indian delicacies such as intricate puddings and “paan”.

The petals are also used in exclusive spas and aromatherapies and the flower oil is in high demand in the cosmetic industry.

In the mountains, young girls often use the flower for decking up and as offerings to the local deities in various temples.

The shrub is a delicacy for the cattle as well, which don’t mind even its thorns! As the name suggests, the Dog Rose can easily be grown in and around houses in well-manured tracts. 

A youth seeks the blessings of the village temple priest. A Tribune photograph

Miragpur, July 28
Believe it or not, but in this modern era there lies a village whose natives abstain from tobacco, alcohol, drugs and meat. Nobody, from young children to the aged, of Miragpur village that has a population of around 6,000, touches as many as 24 items.These include the onion, garlic, cabbage and eggs.

Even blue clothes are a taboo for these villagers who follow the teachings of the 17th century Baba Fakira Dass. Miragpur, with a population mainly comprising Gujjars, located on the Uttarakhand-Uttar Pradesh border, about 30 km from Roorkee and 7 km from Deoband, is well-known for its Darul Uloom.

Villagers claim if any of them touches the restricted items, he/she develops rashes which can be treated only by seeking forgiveness at either of the two temples of the Baba set up in the village.

Miragpur is connected with Deoband and Purkazi by road. A visit to this unique village, spread over 6,000 bighas, reveals that the villagers, most of whom are agriculturists, are well-off and lead a good life. 

“This is due to the blessings of our revered Guru who visited the place in 1610 during the time of Mughal emperor Jahangir and set up a temple here,” claims village head Shosheen. It is said Baba Fakira Dass, a disciple of Guru Nanak Dev, had taken a pledge from the villagers that they would stay away from the prohibited items. 

“Since then, our generations have kept that promise,” said Bijan Kumar, Vinod Kumar and Mahi Pal Singh, adding that guests and married daughters were exempted from the ban. 

Unlike other rural folk in the country, nobody in Miragpur sells milk. “This is a tradition here. We don’t sell milk”, said Bijan. Also, the village has more than 500 arm licences.

“We love weapons and almost every family has these here,” claimed Vinod Kumar. Interestingly, the village was notorious for producing criminals till the end of the 19th century. It was said even the police then did not dare to enter the village.

However, the villagers, denied the same, saying it was just mischief on the part of nearby villagers who wanted to malign the Gujjar community. “Our love for weapons does not mean that we are criminals,”they argued. Miragpur is also home to some Muslim and Dalit families, who religiously follow the rich rituals of the village.

Now, with two schools, an inter college with a computer lab and a veterinary hospital, the village is looking to keep pace with world outside. “We urgently need a standard health centre and a branch of a nationalised bank here,” said the villagers.

Dehradun, July 28
Patients experiencing lumber and cervical pain are benefiting immensely from the treatment being provided at the Microwave Diathermy Traction unit at the Doon Hospital.

As lumber and cervical pain is quite common among people of all age groups, physiotherapists recommend physiotherapy and heat treatment to lessen swelling in the affected body parts.

“Cervical pain is quite common these days which results from excessive bending of neck while working on computer desks over a period of time, the pain then gets radiated in shoulders or other body parts,” said Dr SK Tyagi, physiotherapist, Doon Hospital.

The heat wave treatment given through Microwave Diathermy effectively penetrates into the body part in the shortest possible time.

“Depending on the intensity of the problem, sittings of 10 minutes are given to patients. Later they are advised to undergo physiotherapy exercises and avoid jerky and bending movements,” said Dr Uma Bhauguna, physiotherapist, Doon Hospital.

Similarly for patients experiencing lumber pain the microwave and traction therapy proves to be useful, “It is quite helpful in the early and later stages of disc problems, the microwave and traction treatment is region specific and if taken in the early stages of the problem can prove to be of immense help,” said Dr Tyagi.

At the Doon Hospital the treatment is available at no extra cost, but at the private physiotherapy centers and hospitals the treatment can prove to be costly depending on the sittings that can even extend to months.