Haridwar, October 24
The festival of Chhath is being observed with full dedication, and people, specially those belonging to northern states, seem to be fully engaged in the festive colours. In the evening thousands of devotees gathered at the holy Ganga ghats for worship. They had fruits and dishes decorated in canes and worshipped the Sun God as the sun set.

The Irrigation Department had released water for this festival late in the evening last and today morning there was sufficient water at the Har-ki-Pauri and other Ganga canal ghats for devotees to take a holy bath in the Ganga.

However, elaborate arrangements had been made by Chhath samitis citing less availability of water at Har-ki-Pauri. Also, the garbage at the Har-ki-Pauri and adjacent ghats has put devotees in doubts. The water flow will be carrying garbage and dust as currently the area is being cleaned off in the ongoing Ganga closure.

Late in the evening at all ghats people were seen in thousands offering puja and performing rituals lending a religious and kaleidoscopic look to the city.

Meanwhile, activists of the Teerth Maryada Raksha Samiti protested at the Ganga ghats over the leftover garbage which was cleaned off from the river bed at the Har-ki-Pauri area.

Lashing out at the mela administration and the Irrigation Department of both Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, activists said the Ganga-cleaning drive had been just restricted to being a show-off and nothing else.

Sanjay Chopra, founder of the manch, said it was quite ironic that the garbage accumulated from the river bed was being put at the ghats only and Chhath devotees would be having a major problem in performing rituals at these places.

While Ganga Sabha executive member Ram Kumar Mishra said the cleaning drives were being conducted by various organisations only to attract media attention and nothing else.

“From polythene to puja-related items, people put these into the holy Ganga. If this is stopped and people are made aware of the pollution being done to the river, a major part of the mission of these cleaning drives will be accomplished,” said Mishra.

Dehradun, October 24
The word Chhath denotes the number six in Hindi and the festival begins on the sixth day of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik, which corresponds to months of October and November in the Gregorian calendar, a week after Diwali. Chhath is a Hindu festival of Bihar and eastern UP, extending to four days of celebration.

Though it is celebrated twice a year, once in summer (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in winter (September-November) around a week after Diwali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in north India, and Chhath, being an arduous observance which requires the worshippers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to undertake in winters.

Depicting this fervour a considerable number of Biharis and people belonging to eastern Uttar Pradesh in Dehradun have started the celebrations for the festival. A ritual of bathing, follows a period of abstinence and ritual segregation of the worshipper from the main household for four days.

During the festival, people observe ritual purity, and sleep on the floor on a single blanket. The main worshipper of the house is called Parvaitin and is usually a woman. However, a large number of men also perform the rituals.

The Parvaitin prays for the well-being of the family, for prosperity and offspring, the primary reason which is considered the basis of this festival.

On the eve of Chhath, houses and surroundings are scrupulously cleaned. On the first day of the festival, the worshipper cooks a traditional vegetarian meal and offers it to the Sun God. On the second day, a special ritual, called Kharna, is performed in the evening after sunset. And from this day onwards, for the next 36 hours, the worshipper goes on a fast without water. The evening of the next day, the entire household accompanies the worshipper to a ritual bathing and worship of the Sun God, usually on the bank of a river or a common large water body.

Women today gathered at the main prayer centres such as the Tapeshwar temple and the Pathribagh river area to worship the sun. However, after the evening prayers, people burst crackers, sang songs and eagerly waiting for the next morning when everybody can end their fast.

Dehradun, October 24
Wreathing in pain, five-year-old Ayush Tiwari’s fight for survival has just begun. Escaping from the jaws of a leopard was difficult, but now, to get the required amount for treatment is proving an arduous task.

On Tuesday at 6.30 pm, Ayush was attacked by a leopard while playing in the verandah of his home at Dharkot Silogi village in Tehri Garhwal.

Now undergoing treatment in the ICU ward at CMI Hospital, the cries of Ayush rend the hearts of his parents. Penniless and jobless, Sunder Lal Tiwari, Ayush’s father, is confronted with the question of mobilising resources for the treatment of his son.

“I am worried for my child’s recovery. He is finding it difficult to breathe and his wind pipe is not functioning normally. I am relying on my family members for monetary support. Though we have received assurance from the government, immediate release of finances to tide over the present problem will be difficult.

“He may even require surgery depending on his condition. We have admitted our child at a private hospital. The day-to-day bills have to be taken care of,” wailed Tiwari.

It was a nightmare that the family would like to forget. After his escape, Ayush could not get any treatment and they were forced to travel several kilometres with the injured child to reach the nearest government health facility at Chamba.

“The doctors there told us that they could not do much. So the next best thing was to take the child to Dehradun,” said Manmohan Tiwari, a relative of the family.

Meanwhile, doctors taking care of Ayush maintained that there are 80 per cent chances of his recovery though chest infection could not be ruled out.

“His condition is being carefully monitored. Today, we have taken an X-ray image and are waiting to decide the future course of action. There is congestion in his food pipe due to the injuries received on the skull-neck area and the back,” said Dr Mahesh Kuriyal, neurosurgeon, CMI Hospital.

The Forest Department pays only Rs 10,000 to the injured as compensation and the department has paid Rs 4.42 crore as compensation for deaths of humans due to wild animals since the creation of the state. A total of 286 people have lost their lives since then. More than 175 women and children have fallen prey to leopard attacks and 500 persons have been injured.

Haridwar, October 24
With changing times teaching has assumed different proportions apart from the conventional education as given by teachers to students.

Now, students’ personality development and enhancing their social and extra curricular skills has also assumed prime importance in education.

In this context, firstly enhancing teachers’ personality and their changed approach towards students, considering the present time when students have more pressure and less time, is fast gaining predominance.

These were the views of experts who addressed a one-day seminar on “Personality Development for Teachers” held at Shiv Dale Public School.

Experts dwelt on various points emphasising making education less stressful for both teachers and students.

Uma Narayan, Director of Edu Craft organisation, stated that development of personality in teachers will eventually help in the development of students.

“Teachers burdened with work and stress can’t teach students appropriately. One has to innovate their teaching style and overall personality to have a positive and desirable affect on students,” elaborated Narayan.

Terming time management and having the ability to counsel students apart from their studies, Swagata Chatterjee of Orient Black Swan Publishing House stressed on making these two qualities for teachers imperative.

“Unless teachers know how to manage time and can be friends to students by being counsellors to them, they can’t be deemed to be fully equipped to teach in modern times,” opined Chatterjee.

School Principal Kiran Sharma pointed to the need of having more such seminars as teaching has become a multi-skill affair these days.

Teachers, who attended the seminar, were quite happy and satisfied to have such seminars.

“Earlier, I had not given any thought to this aspect of teaching, but now I feel much better equipped to handle students,” remarked Manju Bhatnagar, a teacher.

Dehradun, October 24
The two-day regional social science exhibition organised by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) at the KV Ordnance Factory concluded today.

Chief guest Arun Khanpalkar, General Manager, KV Ordnance Factory, and JM Rawat, Assistant Commissioner, KVS Dehradun region, presided over the function.

CP Singh, former Education Officer, KV, Om Prakash Balmaki, Hindi writer, and P Handu, former Principal, KV, were the judges on the occasion.

The exhibition began with a Saraswati vandana and KK Garg, Principal Director of OFIL, Ordnance Factory, Dehradun, lit the lamp.

As many as 45 schools from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh were represented by 200 enthusiastic students.

Apart from Hindi and English debate, quiz, group song and group dance competitions were organised.

To win this prestigious competition, KV schools situated at various locations all over India start preparing for the nationals since August.

The national-level competition takes place after the regional-level competition.

“The competition which comprises exhibition and cultural events is an endeavour by the KV committee so that children get to exhibit their skills and talent and at the same time, get rewards and certificates for their hard work. The competition is divided into four levels - school, cluster, regional and national,” said Sunil, English teacher at KV, Dehradun.

The Delhi quarter of the Kendriya Vidyalaya every year gives a topic to the participating KVs.

The topic this year was the USA and Orissa, on which students got together and depicted the culture, history and important destinations of these places.

Models of the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, Michael Jackson, Jagannath Temple, Konark wheel, Odissi dance forms and handicrafts were prepared which were appreciated by the audience.

Addressing the gathering, JM Rawat said, “Every year, KV organises such exhibitions at the national level where cultural, political, social, scientific and religious aspects of one country and one Indian state are highlighted through charts, models, group dances and group songs.”

In the English debate, Priyanka and Vishaka from Haldwani stood first. In the Hindi debate, Kyathi Rathore and Yogita Lamba stood first.

Manish Dhakote (Haldwani) Anjali Neta (Dehradun) Monika Khanke (Dehradun) and Ankush Rai (Bareilly) stood first in the drawing competition.

As many as 15 exhibitors from Dehradun, Roorkee and Haldwani cluster were selected for the nationals to be held at Ambala KV on November 6 and 7.

Dehradun, October 24
The ISBM School of Communication and Media organised a seminar titled “Media Tidings” here today to tell students about career prospects in the media. Founded in 2000, the ISBM has grown rapidly in the past eight years and is currently located in four cities namely Pune, Kolkata, Noida and Bangalore. It has 1,800 alumni and presently, over 2,500 students are pursuing various courses at the school.

The media colloquium was aimed at discussing contemporary issues pertaining to media. Experts at the seminar talked of different opportunities in the media which is growing with each passing day.

Topics like gossip overshadowing news, involvement of media-management courses in India, involvement of youth in the media and media in metros versus media in small towns were discussed at length.

Apart from ISBM team members, eminent personalities from the media and speakers from diverse backgrounds addressed the participants and answered their queries.

Students were given information regarding the admission procedure of various courses under the ISBM.

Kumar Rajesh, a known media personality, addressed the students and said, “Media is not just about glamour, but a field where one has to burn midnight oil to get desired results”.

Present along with local media personalities and Kumar Rajesh was Praveer Pandey, Accountant General, Uttarakhand.

Dehradun, October 24
The dates of holding the South Asian Federation (SAF) Winter Games at Auli in Chamoli district and Dehradun will be decided by next week.

The SAF Winter Games were slated to be held in Uttarkhand in February 2009 but were postponed due to inadequate infrastructure. These Games are now proposed to be held in February 2010.

Nilesh Jha, Additional Director, Sports, Uttarakhand, today told mediapersons that a delegation of the Winter Games Federation of India and Uttarakhand government plan to go to New Delhi next week to meet office-bearers of the Indian Olympic Association.

“We will decide on the exact dates of the Games after meeting Randhir Singh of the Indian Olympics Association. Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary Sports, Uttarakhand, will also be attending the meeting,” said Nilesh Jha.

Jha also announced that the infrastructure for the Games would be ready and the Games would not be postponed again on account of adequate infrastructure.Asked about the participation of Pakistan in the Games, Nilesh Jha said that the participation of players of the neighbouring country depended on the then relationship between the two countries.

Setting to rest the speculations about the completion of the ice-skating rink, Nilesh Jha announced that the rink would be ready by October 30.

“The work to carpet 38 mm of snow on the floor of the rink will start from November 1 and is expected to be completed by November 15. After the testing of all equipment is done, the ice-skating rink will be handed over to the Winter Games Federation of India,” Jha added.

On the question of disturbance caused to the topography of the Auli slopes to be used for skiing, Nilesh Jha admitted that the grass and boulders did get disturbed and the situation was compounded by soil erosion caused by rain.

“In the coming years, the slopes will be get stabilised and Naina Devi Biosphere Authority will do the green topping of the slopes after the Games,” he said.

He added that after the completion of the Games, the ice-skating rink at Dehradun would be handed over to public-private participation for its upkeep.

Dehradun, October 24
The 9th Shaheed Lt Gautam Gurung (Sena Medal) Memorial District Football Tournament organised by Vijay Cantt Sporting Club, began at the Pavilion Ground here today.

Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli inaugurated the tournament by paying floral tributes to Lt Gautam Gurung who had laid down his life for the nation.

The inaugural match was played between Sunderwala Boys and the Little Star Football Club. In the fiercely contested match, Sunderwala Boys defeated Little Star Club by a solitary goal.

Sachin scored the goal in the 22nd minute of the first half.

According to Buddhiman Thapa of the Vijay Cantt Club, one of the organizer, as many as 16 teams from Dehradun are participating in the tournament.

The tournament was first held at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh in 1998 where the family of the martyr Gautam Gurung resided.

Later, when the family shifted to Dehradun the tournament was being oragnised here since 2002.

Dehradun, October 24
The Army Sports Control Board (ASCB) dominated the finals of the various 500 m events on the fourth day of the ongoing National Kayaking and Canoeing Championships at Bhimtal in Nainital district on Saturday.

In the Kayaking 1 women’s event, K Sushila Devi of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) emerged as the winner and was followed by Josna Yohannan of Kerala and L Bonny Devi of Manipur at the second and third places.

In Kayaking 2 sub-junior boys, the first position was bagged by K Somorjit Singh and PH Raj Singh of Army Sports Control Board (ASCB). They were followed by Manu P G and Binto Thomas of Kerala at second place while Ajit Yadav and Mohit of Delhi stood third.

In Kayaking 4 men’s event the team of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) comprising Lalit Kumar, Machari, Sanjay and P Prasad emerged winners. They were followed by ASCB team of Iswar Dayal, Prem Kumar, Ratish R Nayer and Vijay Kumar. The Indian navy’s team comprising N Mangalam Singh, L J K Singh, G Morris and Shyam Prakash came third.

In Canoeing 1 sub-junior Boys Ajit Kumar Shah of ASCB, Hiran Kumar K of Karnataka and Sani Nishad of Uttar Pradesh bagged the top three positions respectively.

In Kayaking 1 sub-junior girls, Twisha K Prashad of Karnataka romped home as the victor to be followed by Shyalu Prakash of Kerala and Nanano Devi of Manipur.

In Kayaking 2 women’s event Rajeena Kiro and Sandhya Kispota of Andaman and Nicobar came in first with Mini Mol K and Jessy Mol of Kerala along with Seema Dung Dung and Usha Rani Swain coing in joint second. The third position was bagged by Ranjita Devi and Lanenjganbi Chanu of Manipur.

Raju Rawat and Sumit Babu of the ASCB bagged the title in the Caneing 2 Junior Boys event. Vibin V and Joseph Francis of Kerala stood second with Ashutosh Pratap Singh and Brijendra Singh Rana of Madhya Pradesh coming in third.

In Kayaking 4 junior boys’ event the first spot was bagged by the team of the ASCB comprising Ankit Kumar Rathor, Sanjay Chodhari, Ajit Singh and O. Bishorjit Singh. The team comprising Subeesh S Arvind S Unni K and Aneesh Kumar of Kerala stood second while Manipur’s A Gyanjit, A Sirius, S Kenedy and N Superson came third.

Mithun Meiti of ASCB stood first in the kayaking 1 event for sub-junior boys. He was followed by Abhijith M Das of Kerala and Vivek Choudhary of Uttarakhand in the second and third places.

The Canoeing 4 event was won by Lakkh Singh, Amarjit Singh, Daulat Chand and W. Amutombi Singh of the SSCB. The team comprising Nafees Qureshi, Sunil Kewat, Vijandra Singh and Ankit Pachauri of Madhya Pradesh came in second while Vikash Dixit, Saty Prakash, Amuten Singh and Vikram Pratap Singh of ASCB stood third.

In the Kayaking 2 sub-junior girls event Shyalu Prakash and Jessy Mol of Kerala stood first. They were followed by Chandra Kala T and Sakri Kujur of Orissa. Komal Nishad and Kirti Nishad of Uttar Pradesh stood third.

Vidhya Raikawar, Aruna Devi, Rameshwari Devi and Sanju Devi of Madhya Pradesh won the junior girls in Kayaking 4, the second position was bagged by Anita S., Sreethu Venukumar, Josmey Mol George and Anju Mol TA of Kerala. Manipur’s team comprising K. N. Geeta Devi, RK Sana Jobi, TH Rosini and SH Renubila came in third.

In the Canoeing 4 junior boys event Nitin Tamang, Sumit Babu, Vivek Kumar and Rakesh Kumar of ASCB stood first. The second position was bagged by Uttarakhand’s Vipin, Bijendra, Kuldeep and Prakant Sharma. The team from Madhya Pradesh comprising Boni, Ashutosh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh and Brajendra Singh Rana stood third.

In the Kayaking 1 junior boys event, H. Prema Nanda Singh of Manipur emerged the victor and was followed by K Amar Singh of Andhra Pradesh and Ram Krishna Mishra in the second and third places.

In the Kayaking 2 men’s event it was Bhupindra Singh Pundir and A Yanthappa of SSCB who came in first. They were followed by Manmohan Dangi and Dilip Singh Negi of Madhya Pradesh in the second place and Indian Navy’s L J K Singh and N. Mangalam Singh in the third.

In the Kayaking 4 sub-junior boys event, Manu P G, Binto Thomas, Justin Joseph and Abhijit M Das of Kerala came in first. The team from ASCB of K Somorjit, Narender, Mithun Meiti and PH Raj Singh stood second while the team comprising Dinesh Waskel, Kamil Khan, Sanamutam and Ravi came third. In the Kayaking 1 girls event, KH Vidhya Rani of Madhya Pradesh emerged victorious while Silpha Mol Sisupalan of Kerala came in second and Sonia Rana came in third.

Dehradun, October 24
With Scholars Home School sports event round the corner, a marathon was organised here today. The race began at 8.15 am. Students of classes XI and XII participated in the marathon which started from the school and ended at Sai Baba Mandir in Rajpur.

Around 500-600 students ran and displayed their confidence before the final day of the event. Defeating the rest in the boys’ team, Sandeep Kumar of class XII from Abhay House ran 18.14 minutes and bagged the first position; Amit Kumar of class XII from Vishal House ran 18.36 minutes and got second position; and the third position was grabbed by Anshu Vohra of class XI from Vishal House.

In the girls’ team, Rasnuya Rakshita of class XI from Vishal House bagged the first position with 25.36 minutes, the second position was grabbed by Kirti Agarwal of class XII from Abhay House with 25.53 minutes and Diksha Negi of class XI from Vikram House stood at the third position with 26.02 minutes. However, the overall position was bagged by Vishal House.

Dehradun, October 24
With a motive to provide a platform for sports to unprivileged children, for the first time today St Joseph Academy organised a sports event for students of Unnayan, a Dehradun-based education centre being run for the betterment of needy children.

At least 100 students from classes KG to VIII participated in the three-hour-long event. Present, along with brother AJ George, were Sangita Arora, principal, Unnayan, president Ghansham Sharma, secretary Sanmat Kumar Jain and treasurer Nem Chandra Jain.

Displaying confidence and contentment amid constant cheering from the audience, enthusiastic participants showcased their skills in 80m and 100m, along with in various others events like jalebi and banana race.

In the jalebi race, Sunny, Rahul and Mamta of LKG bagged the first three positions, respectively, and in the banana race Govinda, Gursewak and Sonu of UKG bagged the first three winners, respectively. In Class I, Malkeet Singh, Rishabh and Abhishek were winners of the spoon potato race and in the girls group Kajal, Simran and Preeti bagged the first three positions.

The sports meet concluded with prize distribution ceremony and Nem Chandra Jain expressed his gratitude towards the school for organising the meet. “These children who till date have never seen such a big ground, today learnt so many things, and will surely participate in such events in the future also,” he said.

Dehradun, October 24
The All-India Championship Series Tennis Tournament will be held at Shanti Tennis Academy, Dalanwala from October 26 to 31.

Uttaranchal Tennis Academy will be organising the tournament that will be prominently participated by sportspersons from the states of Delhi, Chandigarh, UP, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhara Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttarkhand.

The championship is being conducted in u12 and u14 categories both for girls and boys and the qualifying rounds for which are already under progress.

Umakant Pawar, commissioner Gahrwal division, will take out the draw of the championship in presence of Abhinav Kumar senior superintendent of police, Dehradun.

As of qualifying matches today, Param Pun beat Pratyush Guleria, Rahul Thakkar beat Vineet Singh, Sidharth Singh beat Ankit Rai, Yugal Bansal beat Swapnil Negi, Nitish Kumar beat Paras Mittal, Shubham Malviya beat Akarshit Mahajan, Mridul Khakkar beat Rohit Kumar, Atishay Jain beat Vishvendra Singh and Sanjeet Ahuja beat Sanchit Singh.