Dehradun, October 22
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today said safeguarding the Himalayas was a collective responsibility as the vulnerability linked to it affects the entire globe.

Inaugurating a three-day workshop on earthquake predictions, the Chief Minister said that the Himalayas continue to be fragile and any seismic activity in them is bound to have repercussions in the entire world.

He said the natural imbalances were the reasons behind the calamities.

He said he was very hopeful that the outcome of the workshop would help further the cause of effective study towards disaster mitigation linked to earthquakes.

The Chief Minister said nature worship has been part of our tradition in India. “Our forefathers have always worshipped nature in one form or the other and any activity that imbalances nature should be shunned,” Nishank said adding that the people of today were no more inclined to tree plantation activities and worship of animals.

Dr Nishank said there has been increase in incidents of cloudburst, floods and other natural calamities. He said scientific reasons behind such happenings needs to be pondered upon and remedial measures taken up.

The Chief Minister said his government would like to include the recommendations that emerge at the end of the workshop in its disaster-management policy.

Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Harbans Kapoor said it was most fortunate that eminent scientists working on earthquakes have gathered on a common platform.

He said while stopping natural disasters was beyond human ability but minimising loss of life could certainly be done.

The Speaker said that the melting of glaciers was a matter of concern as these were water storehouses for the entire Indian sub-continent. He said that people of Uttarakhand have always been sensitive towards environmental issues.

Kapoor said the state is taking forward development activities while maintaining its green cover.

He said Uttarakhand region has witnessed several catastrophe earthquakes and has faced the challenges involved in these tragedies.

Padma Shri Dr Harsh K Gupta said the timely quake prediction can lead to minimal loss of life and property.

Earlier, Wadia Director Dr BR Arora welcomed the participants to the workshop. He said the workshop has come as an opportunity for the scientists working on earthquakes to deliberate on such sensitive issues three days in a row.

Scientist AK Dubey accorded the vote of thanks. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Indu Kumar Pandey, former Wadia Director Dr VC Thakur, Dr NS Diwedi and other senior scientists were present on the occasion.

Roorkee, October 22
Even years after planning an ambitious project to bring about 200 hectares under rose cultivation, the government has failed to start the project due to paucity of funds as well as its apathetic approach towards it.

About six years ago, it was decided that the farmers would be encouraged to cultivate roses in view of a tremendous increase in its demand during religious congregations in Haridwar.

But, there is no progress in the project even after so many years have passed. Around 200 hectares was earmarked for the purpose in certain blocks, including Roorkee (32 hectares), Bhagwanpur (30 hectares), Narsan (28 hectares), Laksar (17 hectares), Bahadrabad (50 hectares) and Khanpur (40 hectares). Under the project, women of the area were also given training.

But, the plan seems to have stuck in the papers only as the cultivation of the flowers can not be started due to a shortage of funds till date.

The Maha Kumbh is around and the demand for flowers is likely to increase manifold during the mega fair.

A drastic scarcity of flowers was felt during the Ardh Kumbh six years ago. That time, the authorities concerned had to arrange flowers from other states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and even from neighbouring country Nepal. The prices of various varieties of flower had touched the roof that time, hence flak from the pilgrims.

Then it was decided that farmers of the area would be encouraged for taking up floriculture.

Hit Pal Singh, District Horticulture Officer, admitted it seemed impossible to go ahead with the project as just over two months to go before the Maha Kumbh began in January.

However, he said the department had started to cultivate marigold in the area to maintain regular supply of flowers during the Maha Kumbh.

“As many as 340 acres has been earmarked by the department in Haridwar district. For the purpose, five quintals of quality seeds of marigold have been distributed among farmers,” said Hit Pal Singh, adding that the flowers would reach markets by January. The budget of this new project is Rs 40-42 lakh, he added.

Pitthoragarh, October 22
Tour operators and hotel owners from the tourist town of Munsiyari have demanded the opening of the hitherto untapped tourist resorts of Johar valley to foreign tourists to give a boost to business in the town.

“Despite the government’s permission, security forces have not been allowing foreign tourists up to the Inner Line and virgin Himalayan peaks after 2006 without any government orders. This has resulted in a huge loss to tour operators in the town,” said Govind Singh Pangti, secretary, Tour Operators and Hotel Association.

Pangti also produced a copy of letter no. 15011/3/91-f.1(vol-1) dated October 13, 1993, by the Ministry of Home Affairs, government of India, which says that the Milam Glacier area of Johar valley, beside Jolingkong, Sobla and Chaudas areas of Munsiyari and Dharchula tehsils of Pitthoragarh district, have been allowed for foreign tourists.

These have been kept outside the protected area in this part of Himalayas under the revised Inner Line rules by the government of India.

“The ITBP, which guards the Johar valley at the India-China border, does not allow foreign tourists beyond Lilam, 13 km from Munsiyari, where as the government of India ruling has relaxed it 40 km ahead of the spot,” said Pangti.

On the other hand, ITBP officials claim that they have practical experience of misuse of the sensitivity of the area by foreign tourists.

They also put extra burden on the ITBP to seek rescuers for the ones who get stranded in the snow.

“Keeping in view the sensitivity of the area and security of tourists in mind, the ITBP is following the notification issued at the time of the UP government to protect the Inner Line,” said an officer from the 14th Battalion of the ITBP that guards the valley.

The tour operators claim that according to the 1993 letter, the government of India has put the Inner Line at Gonkha Ghati, 5 km uphill of Milam Glacier, only to facilitate foreign tourists to visit Milam, Panchu and Nanda Devi glacier.

The ITBP faces some practical difficulties in the valley. “The district administration officers do not scrutinise the character of foreign tourists who are always looking to photograph sensitive peaks in this India-China border area.

“Besides this, foreign tourists also want to trek into the inner Himalayas and demand security and rescue in times of crisis from the ITBP. This becomes impossible amid patrolling and other security related work,” said an ITBP officer.

Pitthoragarh District Magistrate NS Negi also shared the ITBP’s view and gave the whole responsibility of border security to the ITBP.

“National security is paramount and relaxation of rules does not make any sense. It is up to the ITBP to decide who is to be allowed,” said Negi.

Dehradun, October 22
Conservation is indeed the need of the hour. Realising this, like every year, Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) is organising Conservation Festival. The theme for the festival is “Modern Technology and Environmental Conservation”.

This time it is going to be a great event as prominent conservationists and environmentalists from all over the world will be coming for the festival on October 24.

Eminent personalities those will be coming for the festival are Prof Yash Pal, former Chairman, UGC, Medha Patkar, environmental and social reformer, Mita Vashisht, film and television actress, and Fuad Lokhandwala, entrepreneur.

Prof Yash Pal, who is at present Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is an eminent Indian scientist and educator. In 1976, the government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan for his contribution in the field of science and space technology.

Prof Yash Pal was made a Marconi Fellow in 1980 for his work at Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad. He has held several prominent positions during his career, which includes a stint as Professor of Physics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Mumbai (up to 1983), and the Director, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad (1973-80).

Mita Vashisht is a graduate in history (1979), sociology, English literature and French from Panjab University, Chandigarh. She did postgraduation in English in 1982 from the same university and graduation in acting from the National School of Drama, Delhi (1984-1987).

She has got training with Patsy Rodenburg at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (1993). An actress of films, theatre and television, she writes for film and television feature scripts and a column in a newspaper. She has produced serials for television and a film.

Fuad Lokhandwala is an entrepreneur and US-based businessman who is also called as the Toilet Tycoon of India. He is working to improve and provide first-class toilet facilities throughout the country.

Medha Patkar is a renowned environmental and social reformer and is famous for the Narmada Bachao Aandolan. The festival will start with a conservation run which will be flagged off by Prof Yash Pal, Patkar, Vashisht and Lokhandwala. There will also be addresses by all prominent personalities followed by an interaction. There will also be an address by the CEO, WWF-India , Ravi Singh.

Films on environment will also be screened, which will be followed by a painting competition and an exhibition in the afternoon. Other schools have also been invited. Col H Dharmarajan, SM, Commandant, RIMC, hoped that the event will turn out to be a real success.

Roorkee, October 22
There have been no regular activities on the IIT campus over the past week as most of the students have left for their homes in view of Diwali.

Even most of the faculty members have gone to their homes to celebrate the festival of lights. With the institute going into the exam mode immediately after the festive season, the campus is bereft of its usual buzz.

However, a few students chose not to visit their homes this Diwali and instead celebrated the festival with their friends and teachers on the campus. Chander Tomqil, an MTech student, said his parents were abroad this year and so he decided to stay back on the campus and rather had a great time exploding crackers in the company of his classmates.

For those who had been longing to join their families to enjoy the festivities but could not go due to certain reasons, the campus Diwali was a pleasant experience. They got ample time to spend with their friends, said students.

Training programme

A one-week training programme on “Ground Water Resources Evaluation in Hard Rock Areas” is being organised by the Department of Hydrology at the Continuing Education Centre of the IIT this week.

A total of 15 officers of the Ground Water Department, Andhra Pradesh, have been attending this training programme, which focuses on the methods for assessment of groundwater resources in the hard rock areas of India.

Experts found that more than two thirds area of the country comprised hard crystalline rocks. As such, many of the groundwater experts found it difficult to locate new sources of groundwater and to estimate the total groundwater resources available within these rocks.

For the courses being undertaken during the training, several faculty members have been drawn from the Department of Earth Sciences, Hydrology and Civil Engineering of the IIT-Roorkee as well as from the National Institute of Hydrology.

Another training programme for officers of the Ground Water Department, Andhra Pradesh, is to be organised on “Stochastic Processing of High Frequency Piezometer Data” in the second week of the next month.

Dr DC Singhal of the Department of Hydrology is coordinating these training programmes. 

Dehradun, October 22
The Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) will be taking active part in Uttarakhand Foundation Day celebrations this year.

The corporation has charted out three-day proceedings, which was approved at the Dehradun Municipal Corporation Board meeting held yesterday for the foundation day falling on November 9. The DMC intends to organise a national-level cultural festival in Dehradun as part of promotion of the cultural arts of the state aimed to provide an identity to the DMC in the national cultural scenario.

Apart from it, the board meeting at length discussed issues linked to money spent on purchase of tools and equipment used for civic sanitation work since the assumption of office by the present DMC board. Presiding over the meet, Mayor Vinod Chamoli pulled up DMC health officials for being complacent in undertaking works ordered in the earlier board meetings.

He further directed the mukhya nagar adhikari to ensure that the physical verification of information provided under the RTI regarding purchases made of tools and materials used for civic sanitation work was conducted within 15 days and its report presented to the board.

Regarding the anomalies in resources available compared to their use for civic sanitation by DMC staff, the Mayor said there was a need to improve the working of divisional supervisors who had remained notorious for providing misinformation to either the DMC administration or councillors, compromising on work and not making proper use of available human and mechanical resources.

Responding to allegations of lack of parity in the amount of funds spent on development works in different wards, Mayor Vinod Chamoli said the previous board had set incorrect practices of treating the fund available to the DMC board. “Such practices would not be allowed in the present board as the public money would not be allowed to become an object of misuse,” he said.

On problems of stray dogs and simians, the Mayor informed them that as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, the stray dogs could neither be killed by the municipal body nor at once be relocated to another site. On information provided by doctors in the Doon Hospital, the Mayor said out of the total cases of dog-biting humans recorded in hospital, 60 per cent were bitten by pet dogs, whereas mere 40 per cent were bitten by stray dogs.

Dehradun, October 22
Where fear of adulteration and the Health Department’s vigorous anti-adulteration drive hit the business of sweet shops, the electronics business flourished this festive season. This year, electronic shops offered a wide range of gadgets.

From mini and handy items such as digital camera, people thronged the markets to purchase bulky electronic gadgets to gift these to their near and dears as well to decorate home space during the festival of lights.

“From LCD televisions, microwaves, refrigerators and washing machines, people purchased everything. In fact, on Dhanteras and a week prior to it, crowd started coming to enquire about the price and various schemes.

Moreover, the reason being for tremendous hike in the sales as compared to previous year was falling prices of the items combined with free gift hampers and our lucky draw schemes luring the customers to take something or the other for being considered auspicious in this season,” said Sunil Pratap, manager, LG electronics.

Along with discount, Samsung gave hampers of DVD players, dinner sets, Milton bowls, Bajaj iron and other useful household goods, which almost doubled the sale satisfying customers need amid celebrations.

“For regular customers, we gave 10 per cent discount, whereas for employees of the ONGC under the corporate offer a discount between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 was there.

“However, even after selling ample of LCDs, microwaves, washing machines, we are till getting orders and are very happy with the response,” said elated Rajender Singh, manager, Samsung electronics.

Where 32’’ was the most preferred choice in the LCD televisions, digital cameras, music systems and latest technology equipped electronic gadgets remained favourite along with edible items.

“Now as the prices have gone down then why not purchase electronic items which have better quality and life. For Diwali, this year I purchased a new washing machine,” said Anita, a homemaker.

As compared to last year, this year our sale has increased by almost 35 per cent. Along with music players, Sony’s LCDs and digital cameras had the major share for being high in quality, style and customer friendly,” said Sumit Behl, owner of Sony enterprises.

Dehradun, October 22
Along with new clothes, scrumptious meals and prayers, buying metal items during Diwali holds a special significance as they are considered imperative for ushering in a happy and prosperous year ahead.At Dhanteras last year, the price of gold and silver had gone down. This allowed buyers to splurge on their favourite metal items.

But this year, the price of gold and silver touched the sky. This turned people into hesitant buyers on Dhanteras and Diwali. While 10 grams of 24-carat gold came at a cost of Rs 16,150, silver was at Rs 27,000 for a kg, among the highest-ever prices in the market.

As these are considered auspicious and a good investment, hallmark coins in gold and silver, silver articles like plates, idols of deities and other attractive metal items were purchased during the festive season.

“We won’t say that our sales were below average as persons in large numbers purchased hallmark coins and jewellery, but compared to last year, the market was a little down as the price of gold and silver are too high this season,” said Vipin Jain, a jeweller.

“This year, people did purchase gold and silver articles as it is considered one of the best periods for investment, but due to high prices, everyone curtailed their limits,” said Amit, another jeweller.

“Our sale of silver articles was not satisfactory. Gold and diamond items were purchased for the purposes of gifting and investing,” said Bipin Beri, a jeweller.

However, those who couldn’t make it to the jewellery stores as these were too expensive, utensils stores offered a large variety for personal use as well as for gifting purposes.

“Around the festival season this year, our sales were very good as we had an array of choices and gifts from Rs 10 to Rs 10,000,” informed Mohammad Nasir Khan, manager, Sushil Departmental Store.

Dehradun, October 22
The Uttarakhand team won one gold and two bronze medals at the 20th National Kayaking and Canoeing Championship under way at Bhimtal, Nainital, here today.

Results: In 1000 C4 junior men: P Sharma, Kuldeep Kumar, Virendra Singh and Vipin won gold for Uttarakhand team. Ashutosh, Praveen Singh, Abhay Singh and N Khan won silver for Madhya Pradesh and SS Rajesh, N Soni, S Ishwar and S Singh won bronze.

In 1000 K2 en: Santi Swarup and A.Y Singh gave an outstanding performance for Service Sports Control Board (SSCB) team to win gold, SSCB team’s Amit Kumar and Manoj Singh came up with silver and Manmohan and Dilip Singh was placed at third sport to win a bronze.

In 1000 K1 junior: Manipur team emerged winner to win gold, ASCB team was placed second with silver medal and Uttarakhand was third with bronze.

In 1000 K4: SSCB clinched gold and silver medal, whereas Madhya Pradesh team settled for bronze.

In 1000 C2: Andhra Pradesh won gold, SSCB team won silver and Madhya Pradesh team won bronze.

In 1000 C1 junior: ASSB gave an outstanding performance to win gold, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh

In 1000 K4 junior: ASSB gave a gold winning performance, Kerala team was placed at second spot and Madhya Pradesh was third place.

In 1000 C4 men: SSCB grabbed gold, ASSB had to settle for silver and Madhya Pradesh for bronze.

In 1000 K1 men: SSCB won gold, ASSB won silver and Andhra Pradesh bronze

In 1000 C2 junior: Andhra Pradesh emerged winner with gold, ASSB silver medal and Uttarakhand team settled for bronze.

In 1000 C1 men: Andhra Pradesh won gold, Madhya Pradesh won silver and SSCB won bronze.

Dehradun, October 22
The Winter Games Federation of India has cleared the first hurdle as the International Skiing Federation has given a clean chit to the SAF Winter Games.

The president of federation, Walter Triling, who was on a visit to Uttarakhand, oversaw work at two venues - Auli and Dehradun - after which he gave his assent to the Games.

SS Pangtey of the the Winter Games Federation of India said, “We are prepared for the Games as the work at both sites is in the finishing stages.

“At Auli, we just need to complete the repair work of the slope and some repair work needs to be done on the pipeline for the snow gun. In Dehradun the rink will be ready by November 15.”

After the work is completed, a trial run will be conducted at both venues. “Triling had observed the venues and was satisfied with the work,” said Pangtey.

Earlier, the slow pace of construction and bad weather were proving to be a big hindrance in the way of completion of construction work at the two sites.

At Auli, a new skiing slope has been built and a snow gun was installed. The gun was installed to meet the requirement of snow if, in case, snow was less for the competition.

To organise a skiing competition, one requires to have six-inch snow and the snow gun comes handy in meeting the requirement when there is a deficit. The snow made by the gun last for about a month in winter, whereas in summer, it lasts for more than a week.

Recently, heavy rains at Auli had damaged a considerable part of the newly constructed skiing slope. The repair of the slope is expected to take another two to three weeks time.

Presently, construction activities at Auli have been stopped due to bad weather. These are expected to resume soon.

The state government had earlier decided to complete the preparations for the Games by December 2008. But it failed to go ahead with the plans because of the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan and the construction work at Auli and Dehradun was incomplete.